One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate
by SaintInfernalNeos
Summary: [Sequel of OPG] Time is running out. While the Fate of everything he holds dear is about to be destroyed, Kirito finds himself trapped in a strange and bizarre land. Can he, and his unlikely new allies, survive in a world where everyone but him has Superpowers? Or will the Chains of his Fate crush him before he can recover that crucial part of himself which he has lost...?
1. Prologue I: Three Friends

You're not dreaming, people, we're really here! Welcome all of you to the sequel of my most epic and popular fic ever! Are you ready for some more One Punch-Gamer :D?!

First of all, I should probably apologize for the massive delay for this story. I never expected it to take so long, but between my other SAO fics (Which are going on a temporary Hiatus so that I can center on this one, don't worry), studies and now work time flew from my hands faster than I thought. Luckily, playing "Accel World vs. Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight", the 4th SAO Gameverse game, recently helped me find the strength needed to finally retake this project, and even inspired some small twists and extras that I wasn't sure if I should add back when I finished the original OPG, I hope that you enjoy them OwO!

Also, obligatory, even if it should be obvious I will give this warning one final time: DON'T read ahead if you haven't read the SAO Light Novels, this story contain Spoilers for the whole Alicization Arc (Which is arguably SAO's best arc), and you will be ruining it for yourself if you're an anime-only that was stubborn enough to not heed my advice at the end of OPG and read the novels. There is also the fact that this story will gloss over a lot of the finest details of the arc because it assumes you know them already, even if the fundamental ones will still be explained for the sake of narrative. And, while not as bad, lots of references to One Punch-Man's characters that are exclusively from the manga, and a couple from the webcomic, will be made, so if you haven't gone and read the manga of the most awesome bald hero ever, you should probably at least go and do that now :D That said, I can't really stop anyone if they want to read it without that, but at least I warned one last time. What happens now it's up to you!

Oh, and many times to Pikanet128 for the amazing cover image of this fic, he's great! You can see bigger versions of it and some small variations through the link of my profile :3!

And with that said, I finally leave you all with the fic. Be ready to get your minds screwed, though, as the beginning part before the 'actual fic' starts is quite 'strange', but it's just to add to the 'mystery' :P Have fun!

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Prologue I: Once Upon a Time, there were Three Friends…**

 ** _Date: ? Location: ?…_**

 _The post-apocalyptic city was eerily silent under the darkened sky that covered it. Among the destroyed town, only a few strange creatures the size of small trucks roamed silently, seeming like a strange cross between beetles and lizards._

 _That's why the calm figure clad in golden armor stood out so much. Standing tall and proud, the robotic-looking being, clearly female and with the shape of some sort of futuristic warrior, like a samurai that had been adapted into a new millennium, was an absolute contrast to everything around, out of place in such a silent, hostile and desolated world._

 _With purpose, the golden warrior walked forward, her eyes, 2 white 'ovals' on its featureless and metallic mask, taking in everything around her as if it was something she saw every day._

 _Her golden armor gave her a majestic look…but also made it an extremely obvious and visible target. No one with enough common sense would have been surprised when, after walking into a wider street, two of the creatures suddenly snapped towards her, their mouths opening into enraged roars as they charged against the, compared to them, small being._

 _The instant they had started moving, though, her hand had already shot to her back, grasping onto the strange and vaguely rectangular-shaped 'device' that hung from there._

 _At her touch, a 'cannon' grew from the upper part, even as the lower one opened and something that seemed like a grip with a sharp line coming from the back emerged from the bottom one._

 _Then, the golden being moved, at a speed that was almost too fast for the human eye to follow, her body way agiler than anyone would think upon seeing its golden armor. Without taking even a second to aim, she shot from the strange weapon she now carried in her left arm, striking one of the creatures right on its left eye._

 _It barely reduced its HP, but it apparently made it feel quite a lot of pain if the strangled sound coming from it as it lost control during its pounce and crashed upon its companion was anything to go by. Not missing a beat, the golden 'robot' jumped upon its head and catapulted herself forward with mighty strength, just one second before the 2 creatures crashed onto the street._

 _Not letting the thunderous sound or the cloud of dust caused by her actions affect her, the strange being aimed towards a nearby building with her weapon, even as the shape of the cannon changed, as if reconfiguring itself, before a line of light tipped by what seemed like a futuristic metallic hook shot from it, anchoring itself on the side of the ruined structure._

 _Like a primate through the jungle, the golden figure swung herself through the air, releasing the hook on the apex of her 'fly' and shooting through the void, heading straight towards the biggest building in the area. Her destination._

 _A look of concentration shot through the golden-armored being, noticeable even if her 'face' didn't show it. Around her, the air seemed to 'hum' for an instant, even as she raised her weapon once again._

 _Reality was Willed to Change. Imagination was given Shape. A minuscule piece of the World was Overwritten._

 _A white light seemed to envelop the being's metallic feet, changing the shape of the armor-like boots until they became what seemed like ice-skates made of light. Then, quickly, she shot with her weapon once again, towards the building's top, the hook+line combo arriving to crash perhaps halfway up just as she slammed into the ruined structure skates-first._

 _Instead of her body crumpling apart under the pressure, it was the building's side what filled with cracks. Then, unceremoniously, she shot upwards, skiing up the wall as if gravity had no hold on her, the quickly reeling line of her weapon making her gain more speed until she finally shot past where it was hooked, releasing it and once again putting the device on her back as she kept ascending, slowly losing momentum._

 _She still had more than enough to shoot over the building's roof and, with a graceful flip in midair, land perfectly on it, her boots/feet returning to normal a second later._

 _Soft clapping suddenly filled the area, the golden armored figure standing up and looking directly at the sound's source._

 _Leaning against a twisted-looking pillar, a hooded figure sat half-slumped on the ground, clapping with rusted metallic hands towards the newcomer on its abode._

 ** _"So, Golden Requiem once again graces me with her presence."_** _spoke the hooded one with a strange voice, neither male nor female, deep and old-sounding, though with amusement clearly noticeable within. **"Impressive entrance, as always, Golden King."**_

 _"I'm no King." was the first thing the one now identified as 'Golden Requiem' said, her robotic eyes somehow narrowing as she walked towards the 'old man' leaning against the strange 'tower'. "I have told you many times not to call me that."_

 ** _"Truth is what the world wants it to be, Requiem. If everyone else in this world, even those that follow you, call you King, then it becomes the truth because the majority believes so. It's just how things are."_** _simply replied the hooded figure before releasing a hearty chuckle. **"Besides, you more than deserve the title. Level aside, I could count on both my hands the number of people in this world that could pull off something similar at to what you just did to get here…and I would still have 2 fingers remaining."**_

 _"…then what about you, Storyteller? How did YOU get here?" shot back the golden warrior with an icy tone._

 _The mysterious 'Storyteller' did not answer._

 _Not that the girl had expected him to do so, of course. 'He' (Or 'it', or whatever) had never answered that question since the first time she found him (More like accidentally stumbled upon him), no matter how she tried to formulate it._

 ** _"Well then, let's not waste any more of your time."_** _continued the hooded one while brushing off the previous conversation, as if it didn't matter anymore. **"Are you here to hear more of that story? Are you truly so curious about it?"**_

 _"You are the one who said you could tell me all of it without problems. Don't try and make it seem as if I am the one doing something wrong." as she said those words, Golden Requiem turned away, looking towards the destroyed world around them and admiring the view from that height. "Besides…I have my own reasons to want to know all of it. I wouldn't want the story to be lost if anything happened to you."_

 ** _"Oh yes, I can tell. Otherwise, you wouldn't keep wasting your time and Points into coming here so often."_** _casually answered the Storyteller without missing a beat, making the robotic-looking girl tense at the words, her left hand seemingly inching towards the device on her back for an instant before relaxing again. **"And don't worry, little one: Stories don't die. People, civilization, worlds, even universes may die…but not stories. Not as long as there are people like you…foolish enough to listen to them."**_

 _"…was that supposed to be an insult?"_

 ** _"No, just a simple observation, that's all."_** _dismissed the hooded one with a wave before putting a hand under his chin, humming as in deep thought. **"Now then, where did we leave it at last time…?"**_

 _"The War of Ragnarok ended. The Heroes won." immediately replied Golden Requiem as if by memory, suddenly seeming a weird mix of tense and eager. "And…the One Punch-Gamer defeated Equinox, saving everyone and bringing peace to the world…"_

 _For a moment, an almost imperceptible trembling shook the body of the mysterious being at the words, too fast to be seen by most people…but the golden warrior caught sight of it, mentally archiving that piece of information_

 ** _"Ah, yes. That seems like a fitting ending, doesn't it? But, as it's often with life, it sadly wasn't, no. It was but the beginning of the true final and darkest part of this old 'story'…"_** _whispered the Storyteller with a somber tone, before looking towards the clouded sky with the ghost of a smile under his good. **"But before you can hear that…you need to hear another one."**_

 _"Wait, what?" questioned Golden Requiem with confusion, her eyes narrowing as she turned towards the hooded one. "Another one? Are you messing with me?"_

 _ **"Oh, I assure you I'm not, Golden King, for this story, in a way, is a key piece of the one you have been hearing so far."** revealed the Storyteller with an amused tone, the golden girl's anger at the word 'king' vanishing into cautious curiosity at the declaration. **"Intriguing, right? A story within a story…not so strange a concept, yet very unexpected sometimes. Be that as it may, though, young one, this…is the story of 3 friends, bound by Destiny and Honest Bonds…"**_

 _On the distance, a soft rumbling seemed to shake the sky, like the announcement of an incoming storm that would never arrive._

 ** _"…and of how Fate destroyed their lives."_**

 _And so, the story began once again…_

* * *

 **Seventh Month of the Human Empire Calendar, 372. Rulid Village's Outskirts…**

There wasn't much to see in the middle of the calm and large forests covering most of the northernmost area of the Norlangarth North Empire. Besides the small village that sat there at the very Edge of the Human Empire and the fields surrounding it, nothing of interest stood out at all.

Unless, that is, one looked towards the south of the village and spotted the Black Tree.

Absurdly high, standing over 70 Mels. Impossible thick, with a diameter of around 4 Mels. Unrealistically tough, even the finest iron breaking easily against its jet-black bark. Terribly ancient, its roots extending into the earth as deep as the tree was tall.

This was the Gigas Cedar. The bane of all the over 300 inhabitants of Rulid. Taller than the tallest building in the village (The church's bell tower) by 4 times, it was already a quite intimidating and sinister visage, but what truly made it into a terrible problem were its terrifying abilities: It could drain the Goddesses of the Earth and the Sun's Blessings at a monstrous rate and in a massive range. With the light of Solus and the minerals of Terraria being consumed by its roots and its leaves respectively, it was impossible for the villagers to extend their wheat fields in its direction, which was, sadly enough, the only one in which they could really do so, given that Rulid was surrounded by a range of steep mountains from the north, east, and west.

That was the reason why, over 300 years ago, almost since the founders first settled and built the village, the people of Rulid had been trying to cut down the damned tree.

And that was the reason why, right in that moment, the sound of an axe striking against harder-than-iron-wood could be heard, two small forms visible at the Cedar's base, seeming diminutive in comparison.

They were 2 kids, around 11 years old. One of them, the one with flax-brown wavy hair and green eyes, was chopping away against the massive tree with an axe as white as bone, a concentrated look on his face, wearing light-blue cotton clothes. The other, of black hair and eyes, however, had a challenging smile on his own, even as he was face down on the ground…doing push-ups.

"…99…100!" proclaimed the boy as he finally stood up, dusting his black tunic and white trousers before giving a thumbs-up to the other one. "All that's left today is to run 10000 Mels!"

"Ugh…okay, Kirito, but please, do it after we're done for the day." groaned the green-eyed boy as he lowered the axe and offered it to his smiling friend. "It's your turn, by the way."

"Okay, Eugeo!" quickly replied Kirito before grabbing the axe and getting into a striking position. "Let's go, Dragon Bone Axe! Today we continue our fight against this evil tree!"

"…honestly, I don't know where you get all that energy from." commented Eugeo with a wry smile as he saw his friend start chopping away at the tree, even as he grabbed a small gourd of water and drank copiously from it. "How in Stacia's name do you manage to complete your share of the work and also do that crazy 'training' of yours every day?"

"Hey, don't raise the name of the Creation's Goddess in vain, Eugeo!" shouted the black-haired boy without stopping his crazy tree-chopping, with all the skill of a blind man that had never used such a weapon in his life. "Besides, it's all for the sake of our futures! When I finish my training I will be so strong I will take this tree down with just one punch!"

"Sure you will…" chuckled the green-eyed boy with a chuckle, looking with happy resignation towards his childhood friend.

Kirito was a bit…strange, so to speak. Eugeo had known the orphan boy almost since he had memory, and there had always been an energy and excitement within him that left him, and most adults, baffled. He was the one that enjoyed the stories that old man Garitta, the previous woodcutter before them, the most, and that spent most of their childhood fantasizing about how they would one day go traveling through the land, protecting the Human World from the evil that threatened it and helping the innocents that needed it!

The green-eyed boy didn't see the point, though. Not only it sounded extremely dangerous, but weren't the Axiom Church and the Integrity Knights already there to do all of that? Why would anyone need 'Heroes' when they had something much more reliable looking out for them? Any 'evil' would be coming from beyond the Mountain Range at the Edge, from the Dark Territory where the demons and the dark ones lived, and the Knights always made sure none could pass into their land.

It wasn't as if anyone _within_ the Human Empire would ever do something bad, right? After all, that was why the Taboo Index, the absolute law of the Church, existed over all of them, even the Emperors themselves…

But then, reality had ensued, and they had become 10 and been assigned the Sacred Task of 'cutting down the Gigas Cedar'. To say that the black-haired boy was not amused would be an understatement, and Eugeo had been sure he would throw a tantrum or something…but, surprisingly, he hadn't. Instead, the day they had started cutting down the tree, Kirito had told him his great 'plan.

He would train harder than anyone else in the Human Empire, using a secret training method he had seen in a dream, and become so strong he would take down the Gigas Cedar with one punch, finishing their Sacred Task early and as such letting them choose the next one as whatever they wanted, as per tradition!

Of course, the green-eyed boy wasn't as…'enthusiastic' about his friend's possibilities of actually doing so. In the last 3 hundred years, 6th generations of woodcutters had barely managed to cut through a third of the tree's body, using an axe especially brought from the capital, made of dragon bones, the strongest natural material in the Human Empire. They, the 7th, realistically wouldn't do anything more than a small and insignificant part, as it would most likely take another 600 years before the cedar was cut.

Unless the Goddess Lunaria, ruler of the Moon and Dreams, herself had sent said dream to Kirito, then it was nothing more than a delusion from the black-haired kid being unwilling to give up his dream for spending the rest of his life chopping away at a monstrous tree with an axe, even if it was with his best friend.

It had been a bit more than a year since then, and the one thing Eugeo could concede about his friend was that his determination was as unbreakable as his stamina seemed endless: He hadn't skipped even a single day of doing his 'secret training' (100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats and running 10000 Mels) aside from doing his share of the woodcutting! Seriously, they were days when the more realistic of the kids was scared Kirito's arms or legs were just going to fall off from overworking himself or something…

"C'mon Eugeo, don't use that tone with me! I'm serious!" complained the black-haired boy as he continued doing his sloppy work with the axe, clearly not having improved with it at all since the first day. "Give me a couple more years and you will see! I will become so strong that this tree will be no match at…OUCH!"

"Sigh, seriously? Are you still going on about that? If you have breath to waste talking about your crazy dream then use it to make sure you get better with the axe, dummy!"

The singing voice rang through Eugeo's ears almost like music, despite the annoyed tone it had. Feeling a little smile appearing on his face, the green-eyed boy turned to look at the young girl, the same eyes as them, which had just appeared on the clearing, or more likely had come while they were distracting with their conversation, and bopped the black-haired boy on the head.

Long hair of a golden like the bright sun, tied to both sides of her head, and a braid running down from the back of her head, a cute bow attached at the end of the braid. Eyes the color of the sky, sparkling like sapphires even as she had her arms on jars while pouting with annoyance at Kirito. A white lace around her forehead, with an 'apron' of the same color over a blue dress, finished the picture of the girl, undeniably cute and with an air that just seemed to brighten the atmosphere around her.

"Alice, you didn't have to be so mean!" groaned the hero-wannabe boy while scowling at the girl. "Also, it's not a crazy dream, is my future!"

"Sure it is, and I will become your wife…"

"Eugh! That was a low blow! Besides, we don't need any girls to be Heroes, right, Eugeo?!"

"U-uhm, yeah…?"

This was Alice Zuberg, the last of the inseparable trio that everyone in Rulid affectional called 'The Three Friends'. She was also their self-proclaimed leader as, in her own words, Kirito had muscle and dreams for brains and Eugeo was way too meticulous and worried all the time to take serious decisions.

"What was that, Eugeo?" demanded the blonde girl while walking until she was all but in her friend's face, making him take a nervous step back while blushing. "Are you siding with him in that nonsense?"

"A-ah, ye-yes, uhm, I mean no, eh, I mean…!"

"Hey, why are you stammering nonsense all of a sudden? Speak more like a boy or you will never…!"

"Stop it already, you idiots." cut them off Kirito while appearing between both and putting his open hands on their faces, making them squeak and jump back while they glared/stared in shock at their friend. "See? Better, now nobody is screaming…also, Alice, did you perhaps bring us lunch in that basket? I'm starving!"

Five minutes later, the curious trio was sitting under the Gigas Cedar's shadow, eating the homemade lunch Alice had brought for the boys.

"Man, you really know how to make good food, Alice!" complimented Kirito while munching on the meat sandwich on his hands.

"Well, it's to be expected, mom has been teaching me how to cook for quite some time, you know?" answered the blonde girl with a bright smile.

"Yeah…the only bad thing is that we have to eat it so fast or it will vanish…" lamented Eugeo as he gulped down some water to finish his own sandwich.

"It's the middle of the summer, Eugeo. Fresh food doesn't have that much Life to begin with, but with this heat, bringing it down all the way from the village…" sighing, Alice waved a hand in front of her face while pouting towards the sky. "Well, it goes down to 0 very fast…"

"I just wish this stupid tree's Life would go down the same way…" commented the black-haired boy before, not giving his friends time to even stop him, drawing an 'S' and a 'C'-like symbols in the air with one fingers, then touching the massive form of the black tree and making a strange floating 'window' to appear before it. "I mean, look! It's still over 235500! We have barely reduced it at all in one year! That's why I got to get stronger to take it down with one punch…"

"Kirito, please, stop looking at its Stacia Window every day, you're making me depressed every time you do so…" muttered the green-eyed one of the group while lowering the wrapping of his now eaten sandwich. "And weren't we talking about how our food vanished too fast…?"

"Eh, if we had some ice to keep it cool then it would last much longer…" mused Kirito while looking down at his closed fist with a frown. "Damn problems I can't fix just by punching them…"

"Yeah, well, good luck finding some ice in the middle of summer." joked Eugeo with a wry smile while shaking his head. "Unless you're planning in, like going to the North Cave to get some, there is no way…"

"That's it!" shouted Alice while standing up, a sudden gleam shining in her eyes. "Eugeo, you're a genius!"

"A-am I…?" asked the boy with a small flush, before his eyes quickly widened in realization. "N-no, you can't mean…!"

"Yes! Tomorrow is our free day, right?! Then we will pack lunch and go search for some big chunk of ice at the North Cave! Is perfect!" grinned the blonde girl while putting her hands on her hips, a shining grin on her face. "That way we will have a fresh lunch to enjoy for several days until it all melts, and there is a spot behind my home where the sun never hits, so…"

"Sound like an adventure! Count me in!" proudly proclaimed Kirito while standing up and raising his fist towards the girl. "I will punch all of our obstacles away!"

"Bu-but we can't go there! That cave goes into the Dark Territory, remember?!" as he looked around, as if to make sure no one was hearing them, it was clear that Eugeo was quite scared at the mere idea of it. "We can't go there! Not only is terribly dangerous, the Taboo Index forbids it!"

"The Taboo Index only forbids 'touching the land of the Dark Territory', right? It doesn't say anything about not going near it!" challenged Alice with a determined look, making the green-eyed boy bite his lips. "All we will do is going inside the cave deep enough to find some ice, get it and come back! We won't even get close to the Dark Territory!"

"Bu-but…"

"C'mon Eugeo, where is your sense of adventure?" asked the black-haired boy while putting a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Besides, if anything happens, we will be there to protect Alice, right?"

"…ri-right!"

"Hey! Need I to remind you two who is the most promising Sacred Arts' user the village has seen in years?"

It was among this friendly bickering that the three friends could be seen later heading back to the village, Rulid's gentle and calm atmosphere looking beautifully relaxing under the setting sun.

However, what none of them was expecting was for a small figure to suddenly rush out of the village towards them, seemingly as soon as she spotted them. Blinking, the trio stopped and regarded the girl with tea-colored eyes and hair with confusion as she rushed down the small hill where their village was located.

"Wait, isn't that…?" started Eugeo before the 7-years-old all but crashed against Alice's chest, tears running down her eyes as she hugged the life out of the older girl.

"Waaaaah! Onee-chan! You're okay!" cried the little girl while the blonde tried to balance herself under the worried gaze of her 2 friends. "Thank the Goddesses, you're okaaaaay, waaaah!"

"Se-Selka, calm down!" nervously said the aforementioned female while patting the tea-haired one in the head. "What's wrong, little sis?"

The little girl, Selka Zuberg, Alice's little sister, raised her scared eyes as she let go of her sister, her eyes quickly shooting towards Eugeo and Kirito too before they softened with relief.

"You're all okay…thanks Stacia…"

"Why wouldn't we be okay, Selka-chan?" questioned Kirito while ruffling the little girl's hair, making her blush and look down. "We were just at the cedar, like always, and…"

"…I had another of those dreams." whispered Selka while still looking down.

Immediately, the atmosphere radically shifted among the friends.

Alice paled and quickly knelt beside her sister, forcing her to look at her eyes as she brought her close.

Eugeo's eyes widened and he quickly looked around, almost letting go of the Dragon Bone Axe as he made sure no other villager was close, walking until he stood behind the girl and blocked her view from the village's entrance.

Kirito's mouth clenched shut as he stood closer to the girls and looked back towards the road, making sure no one that has been working in the fields till late was coming.

"Selka…are you sure it was one of _those_ dreams?" asked the blonde girl with a very serious tone, getting a nod from her little sister in answer. "…was it something scary? You have never reacted like this before…"

"I-it was scary! It's…longer and more defined than any other before…" muttered Selka while twiddling with the helm of her dress, her gaze suddenly seeming distant. "You three were under the Gigas Cedar, like always, talking and laughing, but then…the sky turned dark, neither Solus' nor Lunaria's light illuminating the world anymore. The earth split apart, as if someone was murdering Terraria herself, and…a golden light came and took you away, Onee-chan. E-Eugeo tried to grab you, bu-but…bones grew from the scars on the earth and dragged him under! And when I realize it, Kirito was just…gone, as if he had never been there in the first place. But…the most terrifying thing was… _the_ _chains_."

"Chains…?"

"Bigger than the mountains, bigger than the sky itself, so many of them…all of them were coming down and wrapping around the world…" as she said those words, the tea-haired girl shook slightly, her grip on her sister's hand tightening. "All of them were coming for… _him_. The man that wasn't a man…the one with the white cape and the bottomless eyes, his face a carpet of darkness, and then…nothing."

"Nothing…? As in, you woke up right there?" asked Eugeo while suddenly feeling his throat very dry.

"No, nothing as in…nothing remained after that. Only…silence."

As if her word were a _Prophecy_ waiting to be fulfilled, the sun finished setting in that moment, sending a strange shiver running down everyone's back, before Alice quickly smiled reassuringly and pulled her little sister into a hug.

"Hey, it's okay Selka. We're fine, see? Nothing bad is going to happen to us." reassured the blonde girl before giving out a big smile towards the tea-haired one. "Now why don't we hurry back home before it gets too late? I think we're having meat pies for dinner!"

"Me-meat pies? Really?! Yay!" quickly cheered up Selka before turning around and running back towards the village. "C'mon, Onee-chan, or there won't be any left for us! You know how much daddy loves those!"

"I'm right behind you!" shouted Alice with a smile that slowly melted off her face as her sister vanished from their sight. "…dammit…"

"Alice…this time it seems very serious." started Eugeo with a tone that was half-scared and half-worried, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Maybe we should tell your parents alrea…"

"No!" denied the blonde girl while turning to grip her friend's arm, a look of fear and determination on her eyes. "You promised, Eugeo! We can't tell anyone!"

"She's right, partner." muttered Kirito while biting his lips, the boy's eyes fixed on the entrance to Rulid. "If anyone realized the truth, then…"

"But you have to understand…we're just kids! And since we started our Sacred Tasks it has become more and more difficult to keep an eye on her! At this rate, either your parents or someone else will notice even if we don't say anything…" tried to reason the green-eyed kid while looking down. "I myself wanted to deny it at first, but I think at this point none of us can…your sister can see things that are going to happen _before_ they happen, Alice."

It has started almost 2 years ago. They were 9 by then, and Selka only 5, a bundle of joy her sister was always watching out for and that her 2 best friends didn't mind helping with too, especially after a scare one day when the 2 sisters were alone playing along the nearby river and Selka almost drowned after slipping inside.

Then, one day, the little tea-haired girl said that she had seen 'something' on the water while they were getting some from the aforementioned river. The friends had dismissed it as an odd fish or something similar that had vanished from sight quite fast. Then, the same happened when Selka was staring at a window that evening, but that time she said she had clearly seen a group of birds flying over the village, in her words.

When, 3 days later, an unusually large group of birds flew over Rulid, no one gave it too much attention, not even the trio of friends. They were kids, after all, and, even for the small part of them that remembered the 'warning', it had to have been a coincidence, right?

But then…it kept happening. From time to time, at seemingly random intervals, the little girl would see something, always on reflecting surfaces (Be it water, crystals or mirrors) and not long after that, something eerily similar would happen for real: A very strong wind shaking the village, unusual heat in a cold day, a caravan arriving later than expected…

After almost a year of it happening, the trio was forced to admit that _something_ was indeed happening with Alice's little sister, even the somewhat reticent about strange things person that was Eugeo. Luckily, it wasn't too difficult for them to convince her of only telling them about said things, and they even recommended her to try and avoid staring at reflective surfaces for too long, as a mean to prevent the strange 'visions' from happening. And for a while, it seemed to work: For almost 2 months of careful vigilance and extra-pampering to distract her, Selka didn't have any more of her visions.

And then the dreams started.

It was as if the visions had come back with a vengeance after being denied, in a way that none of them could prevent them. Even more worrying, bit by bit, the things the tea-haired girl saw in her dreams slowly became more complex and more difficult for her to understand or explain. The latest one was probably one of the most obvious examples, and a more than obvious reason for Eugeo to suggest they finally brought the problem to the adults…but…

"Eugeo, you need to look at the big picture." softly replied Kirito while looking away, towards the skies at the south, beyond the Gigas Cedar. "It may be true that this is starting to be something we can't fully control, but…think about all of those rumors…"

"The-they're just rumors, though…"

"So many and so often?" challenged Alice when she saw the doubt appear once again on her friend's face. "Please, Eugeo, understand…I don't want to risk anything happening to my sister because of this…"

Biting his lips, the green-eyed boy looked from the girl to his other friend, thinking over what they had just brought up, the strange reason why they insisted to keep Selka's 'condition' a secret.

That is, the strange rumors that had started circulating everywhere for over a year now, just a little after he and Kirito started their Sacred Task.

A merchant had arrived one day and, during the usual trade with the villagers, had commented about a strange story of a large creature _wearing a crown_ having been seen in the big lake far away on the south, near an abandoned villa. All the adults had chalked it up to the overly active imagination of someone…until a month later the same merchant came again saying that people from the nearby town of Zakkaria had seen an Integrity Knight heading that way on their dragon, which became the talk of the village for a couple weeks.

From then on, similar and strange stories would come and go for the few people that came to the village or that went to Zakkaria to get something they needed, each weirder than the last.

A man with a strange moustache and a sword that extended dozens of Mels seen somewhere in the Eastabarieth Empire.

A great shadow that no one could catch moving through the forests at the edge between the Wesdarath and Southacroith Empires.

A giant 'dog with a human face' stalking into the night atop the Immortal Walls at the east from Zakkaria.

A young with a strange spear that impaled through rocks as if they were sand running around near Centorea, the capital.

Strange 'subterranean' humanoid creatures emerging during the night, grabbing rocks and branches without disturbing any animal before going underground once again.

And, the only thing that all of them had in common and that made people even consider them more than crazy talk, every time an Integrity Knight or more would be seen in the area soon after, before all talks and reports of the 'incidents' stopped altogether, as if the ones involved just…'vanished'.

"All around, people or creature with these…'blessings', or 'curses' or whatever they are, suddenly disappear soon after they're spotted…and I think it's pretty obvious that Selka's 'visions' are one of these things too, it's just that no one realizes it because they think she's just a little girl talking nonsense…but that will change sooner or later as she grows up." whispered Kirito before clenching his fists, looking at his friends with determination. "That's why, when I become strong enough to take down the Cedar with one punch and choose our next Sacred Task, I'm going to bring her with us! Like that, we will always be able to keep her safe!"

The boy's outrageous declaration was met by an awkward but grateful smile from Alice and a resigned but happy look from Eugeo, both of them sharing the admiration towards their strange friend's drive, even if not truly believing in his crazy claim/objective/dream.

"Heh…thanks, Kirito. Guess I will have to entrust my little sister to you in the future, eh?"

"What are you saying, Alice?! You're coming with us, of course!"

"Ehm, Kirito, even if you really take down the tree, Alice's Sacred Task wouldn't end like ours…and on that matter, how are you even planning on taking Selka with us wherever we go?"

"That's easy! Our new Sacred Task will be 'Heroes of the Land'! And everyone knows Heroes need brave companions!"

"That…that Sacred Task doesn't exist…"

"That's the great thing; we will be the first ones in doing it! And part of its requirements will be that we need 2 helpers, a brave and talented Sacred Arts user that can continue her Sacred Task while traveling with us and her ever-helpful little sister!"

"…that's…the craziest idea I have ever heard…thanks, Kirito, you always know how to brighten even the heaviest day!"

"No problem, Alice! Now c'mon, let's get moving, we need to get everything ready for tomorrow!"

"Wh-what?! We're still going to the cave even after hearing that vision of Selka?!"

"It will be fine! Don't you remember? Selka's visions take anywhere from 3 days to over a week before happening! All we have to do is make sure you're not close to any bones or me to a golden light for a couple weeks and nothing will happen!"

"And we DO need that ice, though, so that our lunches can be enjoyed more and as such we have more energy to take down that tree…"

Even as he heard his two closest friends continue talking about why they needed the ice from the cave, Eugeo of Rulid couldn't help but sigh and look down at the Dragon Bone Axe in his hands, idly reminding he had yet to put it back in its proper place until the next day.

Maybe Kirito and Alice were right and he was just being paranoid. After all, even if this one sounded a bit weird, lately Selka's dream-visions were kind of like that and nothing too bad happened, like how she said that 'a giant fish was going to try and eat the sun' and it had only been an unfortunate one that had been swimming unusually fast and jumped head first out of the river and into a small campfire some of the villagers had made that night to relax.

There was no way anything bad would happen to them in the cave tomorrow…right?

For some reason, as the green-eyed boy walked back into the village and towards his home, a certain part of the little girl's strange words echoed into his head.

A strange caped man clad in black and white…

* * *

"Brrr…it's really cold in here…"

"See? I knew this was a bad idea! We should probably go back and forget about…"

"Sigh, here Alice, we brought these coats for a reason. And Eugeo, really, if you were so hesitant about coming, why did you bother bringing that axe?"

"I-I already told you, I thought we may run into ice too big to cut without something like this, nothing more!"

Such were the words that could be heard deep inside the Northern Cave, the northernmost edge of the Human Empire, as the 3 kids walked through its cold caverns, the freezing cold river that they always saw near their village flowing beside them, its source probably somewhere in the cold depths, only the light of Alice's summoned Luminous Element letting them move through the darkness.

It was already a bit past midday and the trio of friends had already eaten their 'dinner' just outside the cave, some meat pies from Alice's house and a couple sandwiches Eugeo's mother had prepared for her son and her friend's 'little excursion' (Excuse the boy had given when asked where they were going).

What had surprised the other two, though, was seeing the green-eyed boy carrying the Dragon Bone Axe when they met up that morning. Despite the flimsy excuse he insisted on repeating, both of them had accepted it with small grins, as it was probably the most forward and 'aggressive' action they had ever seen the meek boy done.

After all, while there was no 'rule' forbidding him from taking the axe from its shed during their free day, it was mainly because it was common sense it wouldn't be used said day than for it being available for anyone. Such 'loophole' on rules was something more proper of the blonde girl than of him, without a doubt.

"D-do you think it's much farther before we find ice?" asked the green-eyed boy while his gaze kept shooting from side to side, as if fearing something would attack from the unseen shadows.

"With how cold it is, I doubt it. Also, what are you scared of, Eugeo? This cave has been empty for centuries…unless you fear we're going to run into the dragon protecting it?" joked Alice with a mischievous look, causing her friend to blush.

"Tha-that's just a legend about Rulid's founder, nothing more!" protested Eugeo while 'subtly' tightening his grip on the Dragon Bone Axe, "There is no way a dragon lives inside this cave!"

"Oh yeah, 'Bercouli and the Dragon', right? It was the first story Garitta-san ever told us…" commented Kirito while walking at the front of the group, giving back a feral smile while raising his fist. "But don't worry, Eugeo! Even if we find the dragon, I will punch it into unconsciousness while you hack his wings off with your axe!"

"That doesn't reassure me at all!" shouted the green-eyed boy with a small hint of hysteria in his voice, even as the darkness around them seemed to recede a little and the cave to open a bit more. "Besides, I already told you, there is no way that there is a…!"

"Dragon." came out of Alice's mouth as she suddenly came to an abrupt stop, making the boys freeze and quickly turn to look in the same direction, one pale and shaking and the other serious and ready.

What they saw…wasn't what they had feared/expected, yet it was still incredible.

There, in the center of a massive cavern, atop a frozen lake which covered most of it, the dragon of the legend rested…or, more exactly, its remains, as there was just a skeleton clearly belonging to the massive winged reptile of legend, lying there in a clearly fallen position, the cold bones seeming like a monument to some unknown and tragic defeat.

"It…can't be…" whispered Eugeo as the 3of them walked closer, staring at the bones with awe and a small hint of fear, the boy easily noticing how the skull of the thing was big enough to have swallowed them whole. "It's actually real…?"

"It was, you mean." corrected Kirito with a frown while walking closer to it and, without showing any of the hesitation the other 2 kids were, touching the cold bones several times. "I don't get it, though…how did it die? In the legend, Bercouli had to run away from it because it was too powerful…"

"Maybe it died of old age?" proposed Alice as she walked closer, the black-haired boy's actions having erased her lingering fears of the skeleton. "Even dragons must one day experience losing all their Life because of the passing of time, I guess…"

"That's…the most logical answer, but…"

Whatever Eugeo wanted to say died in his throat as he stopped just a few steps away from the dragon's skeleton, the voices of his friends as they kept theorizing what happened to it being lost as he felt IT.

In his hands, the Dragon Bone Axe was… _vibrating_. In a subtle, imperceptible way, one that no one who wasn't holding it and had spent over a year of their lives swinging it would notice.

As if it was resonating with something…and…what was that…noise coming through…the dragon's bones…?

 _'Why did we die? We did nothing wrong…yet he came to destroy us…'_

A sudden flash exploded through the green-eyed boy's mind. A raging beast. A fearless man. A blade that could cut through [Time] itself…

"Eugeo? Is something wrong?"

Alice's voice managed to drag the blinking boy out of his 'trance', making him realize he had at some point walked close enough to the dragon's skeleton to have his axe just over its skull.

"Wa-waaah!" squeaked Eugeo while letting go of the axe, his gaze darting back towards his confused friends. "So-sorry, I just got lost in thought and…!"

With a dull sound, the Dragon Bone Axe's edge cut into the cold skeleton.

The whole cave shook, making all three kids scream in surprise, eyes shooting towards the twisting 'energy' warping where bone-weapon met dragon's bones.

For a moment, a twisted and elongated shadow was visible amidst the distortion…before the phenomenon ended and the Dragon Bone Axe fell down, unmoving and looking the same as ever, as if nothing had happened.

…except that the massive dragon skeleton had vanished without a trace, revealing what had been hiding under it.

A beautiful-looking bluish-white sword with a rose-like motif on its guard, the hilt looking pristine in an unnatural way while the blade's steel seemed like it was made of the purest ice.

"…wha…what just happened?" asked Kirito with utter confusion in his voice.

"It's…it's the dragon's sword! The one that Bercouli tried to steal without success!" shouted Alice with clear excitement, rushing towards the ancient weapon.

"Sorry, didn't you just see the dragon's skeleton vanishing without a trace, Alice?!" questioned/screamed Eugeo with bewilderment, rushing after his friend and only stopping to pick up his axe, barely acknowledging how cold it suddenly felt. "I think that's a pretty good reason to panic and…! Woah, that sword is…really beautiful…"

"Hmm…" muttered Kirito while walking up to the weapon and quickly opened its Stacia Window, ignoring the startled look of his companions as he stared at the words. "Blue Rose Sword, eh? «Divine Object»? That sounds cool! And…'Priority Class 45'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know, but maybe I can discreetly ask sister Azariya if she does…" answered Alice while thinking about the woman in charge of the church and her Sacred Arts' teacher while she leaned down to pick up the blade. "In any case, we should better get going and…ugh…wh-why is this thing so heavy?!"

"Wait, really?" asked the green-eyed boy while leaning down to help his struggling friends. "It doesn't look like…argh…da-damn…it's really heavy…!"

"Do not worry guys, I'm coming to help!"

5 minutes later, the trio was forced to quit after they had only managed to drag the half-raised sword until near the tunnel they had entered the cavern from (Mostly thanks to Kirito's effort, whose strength had surprised his friends), all of them looking down at the sword with disbelieving eyes.

"How can a blade be so heavy? One wouldn't be even able to use it like this!" complained the blonde girl while kicking the weapon's hilt.

"Well, it's still a treasure, so we can come back later for it…why do you say we get that ice and try to drag it a bit more next time? With time, I'm sure we will be able to take it all the way to Rulid!" cheerfully proclaimed the black-haired boy.

"Kirito…sometimes I don't know if your optimism is admirable or frustrating." confessed Eugeo with a sigh as they once again headed into the tunnels, Alice once again calling forth a source of light with a Sacred Art. "Also, don't you think we should go back already? Things have gotten too strange here…"

"Yeah, it's easy for you to say that, you got to kill a dragon's skeleton with your axe!" huffed the blonde girl while giving him a pout. "Well, I'm not getting out of here without my ice after bothering to come all the way!"

"I-I didn't kill those bones, i-it was an accident! Also, can bones even be ki…?"

"Found the ice!" interrupted Kirito's voice with a victorious tone, making the two 'arguing' friends to turn towards the last one, in time to see him punching against what seemed like half a wall of ice filling the tunnel's side. "I will…get us a good chunk…in no time…!"

"Kirito, don't do stupid things, that's what Eugeo brought the axe…" the blonde girl's explanation was suddenly moot when she saw the boy's fist slam deep into the ice, cracking the entire wall and letting several big-sized chunks fall off around him. "…for…okay, how in Stacia's name did you do that?"

"I have been training to get stronger, remember?" was all that he offered for explanation while grabbing a respectable-sized piece of ice. "Brrr, cold…Alice, open your basket, I'm sure this one will do nicely!"

"…one day, Kirito, I swear it, one day your craziness will stop surprising me." grumbled Alice while walking forward and letting her friend put the frozen liquid into her basket. "Huh…it's not as heavy as I expected…"

"I can still carry it back, if you want to…"

"Okay, yeah, that's good and all, but can we start heading back already?" hurriedly asked Eugeo while stepping between them, his eyes darting everywhere but at his friends while his grip on the Dragon Bone Axe shifted continuously. "We don't even know how long we have been in here…"

"Sigh, yes, worrywart, we're heading back…" muttered the blonde girl before turning around, only for her eyes to move in confusion through the tunnel they have come from. "Uhm…this way, let's go!"

"We're right behind you, Alice!"

"Ye-yeah, let's just move…"

However, five minutes later, it was more than obvious to the three friends that something was 'wrong', pointed by the fact that they hadn't stumbled upon the cavern previously housing the dragon's skeleton and the ancient sword. And, as expected, it was the green-eyed boy who decided to voice out the fear they shared.

"…w-we're lost, aren't we?"

"O-of course we aren't lost; we must have just taken the wrong turn somewhere!" quickly answered Alice, though there was no hiding the evident fear and nervousness in her voice. "I-I'm sure that…oh, look, I see light! See? We must have just taken another path that still led us to the…!"

The word 'exit' never came from the blonde girl's mouth, for all three kids froze the moment they turned the next corner, frozen as their eyes widened upon the sight.

On hindsight, the rather 'low' intensity of the light should have tipped them off that something was wrong even before they got closer, but after so long in the dark with only a small source of illumination, it was only natural their eyes hadn't realized the difference.

Otherwise, they probably wouldn't be staring at the expansive and dead-looking land before their eyes, the cave's ground ending just a few Mels from where they had stopped, a few dead trees around being the closest sign of life in a world where the sky seemed darker for no reason, as if Solus' light wasn't truly welcome there…

"Th-the Dark Territory…" squeaked Eugeo with a dread-filled voice, instinctively taking a step back. "O-oh Goddesses…how did we end here?!"

"We mu-must have taken the wrong turn somewhere in the darkness without realizing it…" gulped Alice while trying to not show how scared she actually was too, failing utterly because of the slight trembling in her legs. "Le-let's hurry back, we don't…!"

"Wait…what is that…?" spoke Kirito with an unusually serious voice, squinting his eyes upwards into the strangely dark sky, both his friends following cue by instinct, just as the sounds of battle finally became apparent for them.

High above, just at the edge of their vision range, an unreal fight raged on in the skies.

Two dragons, one jet black and the other of silver-gray scales, clashed fiercely in a flurry of fangs and claws, with viciousness beyond anything the three kids had ever seen.

But it was the riders who truly stole their breath away in a very ugly way.

Riding the black dragon was a mountain of a 'man', almost as big as his ride, whose form and shape seemed 'wrong' to the children's eyes from the distance, his hands seeming too big and shaped in a way that made no sense, his head also seeming unnatural, as if he was wearing a strange reddish armor over his upper body…

The other one, though, was unmistakably an Integrity Knight, one of the protectors of the Human World, wearing silver-white full body armor, which immediately identified his opponent as a Dark Knight, the elite warriors of the dark humans that lived in the Dark Territory…

The weapon he was using, though, wasn't the usual blade you would expect from one of the 'Knights', though. In fact, he was wielding two long 'objects', one in each hand, whose length and vaguely cylindrical shape on the 'blades' (Plus the lack of any edge) indicated they weren't swords at all…and then, there was the strange, crackling energy surrounding them, like a living yellowish web that shot in and out of the weapons.

All the way down, the smell of burnt ozone reached the trio's noses, and a vague realization's of the energy's true nature hit them, also explaining why the Dark Knight wasn't willing to let them clash with his massive…pincers?

Finally, though, the 'freezing spell' under which the kids had been put since their gazes settled over the fight was broken as the energy around the Integrity Knight's weapons intensified, his enemy apparently realizing the imminent danger and trying to back away…

Too late.

"MAX VOLTAGE!"

The scream somehow reached all the way to the trio's ears, though the loud rumbling of thunder coming from both weapons clashing together quickly overcame it.

Cutting through the air, a massive lightning bolt exploded towards the Dark Knight, engulfing him and his dragon in a torrent of electric power, their screams being silenced by the roaring thunderbolt.

Then, after 3 seconds that seemed to last an eternity, the attack ended, the smoking forms of rider and beast falling down at brutal speeds, even as, after a tired glance their way, the Integrity Knight flew away, his dragon roaring in victory as their enemies brutally slammed against the ground.

Staring with wide eyes, once again unable to move from the shock, Alice, Eugeo, and Kirito were left with the visage of the broken body of the black dragon and its knight…and finally realized what had been 'wrong' with him.

While everything from his waist down was human (The black armor he wore here having mostly broken to show parts of horribly charred skin), his upper body was like some sort of bizarre humanoid crustacean, of red-orange color and with massive pincers instead of arms, his eyes protruding out of his head with 2 antennae-like appendages…or at least, had been, given that one of them had smashed brutally against the ground and turned into little more than paste, and the other was charred to the point it clearly couldn't see anymore, the smell coming out of his whole charred body being enticing to the children's nostrils in a very sickening way.

The creature didn't fit the description of any of the beings inhabiting the Dark Territory the three friends had known about, which combined with the fact that it had apparently been a Dark Knight made even less sense (As the 'evil order' of dragon riders were supposed to be only composed of humans).

For the second time in the last minutes, an unexpected sound startled the trio out of their frozen state: A barely audible pained groan, coming from the clearly dying humanoid creature…

"W-we should get out of here." quickly declared Eugeo, finally noticing that he had been gripping his axe so hard his hands were hurting, his eyes quickly shooting towards his closest friend as he took a step back. "Kirito, let's…eh?"

The reason for the green-eyed boy's sudden surprise was more than evident and, all things considered, a little scary.

Kirito stood there, STARING at the agonizing Dark Knight with unfocused eyes, his gaze seemingly fixed on the being and at the same time lost in a distant place.

A word seemed to be trying to escape his lips, in a way so forced that Eugeo was unable to properly understand it.

"Crab…lan…te…?"

"Crab-what? Kirito…?"

Yet another pained moan coming from the dying Dark Knight interrupted the green-eyed boy, making him cringe and take another step back.

Alice gasping out of her own stunned shock and taking a step forward wasn't something he was expecting, though.

"A-ah, hang in there!" half-shouted the blonde girl while taking several steps forward, her eyes never leaving the gruesome visage of the humanoid creature. "I-I know Sacred Arts…I can help you!"

"Alice, are you insane?!" shouted Eugeo with horrified eyes, though his own fear stopped him from taking a step after his friend. "He's a Dark Knight, an enemy of the Human Empire! You can't help him!"

"But…but…Sister Azariya taught me to help anyone who needed it!" protested the blonde girl while stopping and turning around, biting her lips while she stared at her childhood friends with uncertain eyes. "If there is a chance to save his life, I can't just…!"

It happened all of a sudden, without warning.

Somehow, without realizing it, Alice had continued walking backward as she talked, with unsteady steps and, finally, reached the end of the cave's rocky ground, the little girl's eye widening as she realized her mistake just as she fell backward, towards the dark ground.

Both boys' very souls snapped in that instant, a fear filling them as Kirito's eyes shot open, out of whatever enchantment he had been in, just as Eugeo screamed the blonde's name, the pair moving forward faster than they had ever before.

The black-haired boy reached her first, extending himself forward to catch one of her flailing arms. The green-eyed one arrived an instant later, gripping one of her legs.

None of them could stop the event that would define their, and the entire world's, future, though, and so Alice Zuberg's hand slammed painfully on the blackened dirt outside the cave, into the Dark Territory, while the rest of her body and her two friends simply fell on the rocky ground.

Three pairs of eyes shot towards the hand touching the land of Darkness, as if it was both the most incredible and at the same time the most horrifying thing they had ever seen. Then, less than a second later, Alice had removed it, staring at her dirt-stained palm with scared eyes. Before any of them could even open their mouths to say anything, though… _IT_ happened.

Barely a couple Mels beside the trio, the world _screamed_ , distorting and letting 'something' appear, a warped violet 'circle', similar yet different to a Stacia Window, manifested itself, and from within came…a _human face_.

It was hard to tell if it was male or female, young or old, from its plain features. Its skin was pale, its head didn't have a single strand of hair and both of its eyes, which opened in a perfect circle, were also void of emotions.

Then, its mouth opened and a voice that didn't sound human emerged from it, strange words that seemingly made no sense being spoken.

Vaguely, the children realized it was speaking in Sacred Tongue, though without any words they had ever heard on it…

 _-singular &%##…unit ()%%…detected ?¿/ …ID 138982…tracing $*/…-_

There was an eternal pause, which didn't really last more than a couple seconds, but that the sudden flash coming from the glass-like eyes of the face made the trio felt infinitely longer.

 _-coordinate 7656/889…fixed ?L=L?…Report #!#…Complete.-_

Finally, the words stopped and the 'window' vanished without a trace, leaving only eerie silence behind.

Eugeo didn't know when he had stood up again, nor when he had raised his axe in the direction the head had been in, towering protectively over his friends, but he was more than startled when he realized he had done so. A quick glance back let him see the grimly-looking Kirito half-crouching over the still shocked Alice, giving him a curt nod of acknowledgment, as if thanking for his position.

The green-eyed boy couldn't even muster the will of telling him he had done so without realizing when the last, pained breath escaped the lonely Dark Knight outside the cave, making their eyes turn towards his body as it finally slumped in eternal rest.

Not saying a word, Kirito stood up and, without giving her time to protest, carried Alice bridal style, turning around and sprinting into the cave.

"Quick, Eugeo!" shouted the black-haired boy without looking back, an unusually mature seriousness filing his voice. "We gotta go back!"

For an instant, the green-eyed boy turned to look at the dead body of the Dark Knight.

Then, he followed after his friends, his grip on the strangely cold axe tightening once again.

This time, as they ran into the darkness, he didn't look anywhere but forward even once.

* * *

Eugeo had problems sleeping that night.

He wasn't even sure how they managed to get back to Rulid without anything happening. After the events in the cave and beyond, he was sure that something would suddenly appear to drag them into the darkness, that the Integrity Knight would show up with his lighting-creating weapons to punish them, that the ghost of the Dark Knight would come to haunt them…

And yet, nothing happened. With a surreal and almost dream-like quality after everything they went through, they arrived back to the village in record time, Kirito let go of the strangely submissive and silent Alice (Who promised them a great lunch the next day with a shaky smile before running off to her home with their 'Summer Ice') and they went back their separate ways (With him making small detour to leave the Dragon Bone Axe back on its shed). He got home, was greeted by his mother, annoyed by his siblings and told to take a bath by his father. He ate dinner with his family and then went to bed.

All that normality after the horrifying and strange things they had witnessed…it felt bizarre to the green-eyed boy, like it was a bad joke Life was trying to force on him.

He had always been a devoted believer in the righteousness of the Axiom Church and the authority of the Integrity Knights. They were the protectors of orders, those who maintained all of humanity safe, and those who defended it from the threats of darkness while enforcing the Taboo Index for everyone's sake.

But, what he had seen back at the cave…that strange 'vision' of the dragon being killed by what could have only been a Knight, that gruesome 'battle' over the heavens, the pitiful form of the dying Dark Knight's body…all of it had shaken the little boy down to his very soul.

The form of that brutalized creature, dying on the ground, hadn't seemed like the evil monsters he had always been told about after being vanquished by the defenders of the world, at all,…just like a dying man desperately wishing to not suffer anymore.

When he finally managed to fall asleep, the young woodcutter dreamed of draconic bones roaring for revenge and twisting themselves all around him…

"Eugeo…are you sure you're okay? You have looked like crap all morning." worriedly commented Kirito while stopping his daily sit-ups to stare at his friend, the weak smile he wore not fitting with the dark bags under his eyes.

"Yeah…just a bad night of sleep, nothing to worry about. Honestly, I'm happy to be here cutting this damn tree again." confessed the green-eyed boy while swinging the white axe once again, idly aware of how nice and cool it felt under Solus' summer heat. "After everything we saw yesterday, I needed some normalcy to remember that the world hasn't gone mad…"

"Well, I guess that's understandable…don't worry, though! Today, we're gonna be able to enjoy some cold milk and fresh pie today!" cheered him the black-haired boy while also looking quite pleased with the thought.

Eugeo was unable to contain his own smile at his friend's words, stopping his swinging for a moment to look at the sky as he took a sip of Siral Water.

Yes, what had happened yesterday had been traumatizing and world-shaking for him, but now things were alright once again, and soon Alice would come with that usual radiant smile of hers that always made him feel happier inside, and they would all enjoy…

A big shadow flew over them, hiding what little of Solus' midday light arrived directly to them through the Gigas Cedar's branches. It passed by in just a few seconds, but it was more than enough for them to hear the flapping of powerful wings and a familiar silver-gray form.

Both kid's heart stopped as they saw the dragon rider fly towards Rulid, vanishing from their view in a couple seconds, their eyes shooting towards each other as unspoken realization crossed between them.

The Integrity Knight. The same one for yesterday. Never in their 11+ years of life had they ever seen an Integrity Knight. After all, there was never any reason for them to act around Rulid, or anywhere within the Human Empire. All 4 Empires that formed it followed the Axiom Church's doctrine, after all, and there were no rebellions or criminals that would…that would…

 _"No…no way…"_

There was no way that…for such a simple thing…for an accident she had no control over…

Kirito spoke aloud the terrifying realization at which Eugeo had arrived.

"Is coming for Alice."

The black-haired boy didn't even wait for an acknowledgment of his words before he shot to his feet and rushed towards the village in a mad sprint, kicking dirt every time his feet hit the ground. An instant later, his green-eyed friend ran after him, his heart hammering in his chest and his grip on the Dragon Bone Axe tightening again, ignoring how colder and heavier it suddenly felt as he tried to keep up with his friend.

Under any other circumstances, he would have been slightly shocked or awed at how fast Kirito was running, easily leaving him behind, probably faster than even the fittest men in the whole village. It would have probably made the green-eyed boy wonder if his training was more than just over-enthusiastic craziness. However, his mind was too focused on the fact that an Integrity Knight was _coming for Alice_ because of an accident that he was unable to think or care for that.

That was probably also why he didn't realize he, despite not going as fast, was still being quick enough to keep a reasonable distance close to his strange friend, as if something he was holding was dragging his tired and small body forward.

They barely even noticed the farmer that gaped their way when they shot past him, straight for the village, the elderly man just staring in flabbergasted shock at the 2 kids that he saw almost every day head for the tree moving so fast he almost thought they were some wild animals rushing past.

Eugeo wasn't sure when they arrived at the village's main square, but by the time he had finished recovering his breath, Kirito was already staring with hard eyes towards the other side, where the imposing form of the armored dragon covered an entire section of the plaza, the even more imposing rider standing taller than any villager, like an otherworldly figure higher than mortal men. On his back, which made the green-eyed boy's heart skip a beat, 2 familiar tube-like weapons rested, seeming harmless and non-threatening, betraying the terrifying power he knew they held.

His eyes, however, immediately shot towards a head of golden hair standing paralyzed amongst the crowd of villagers, who had gathered to see the unexpected and breathtaking arrival of the Integrity Knight, holding her small basket tightly to her side.

Once again, the black-haired boy was one step before the green-eyed one, arriving at their childhood friend's side, grabbing her shoulder and forcing her to look at him.

"Ki-Kirito…? Eugeo?" asked the stunned blonde while looking at her friends, the latter having just arrived panting after the first one grabbed her. "What..?"

"Shh! Alice, don't say anything!" quickly silenced her Kirito while slowly taking steps backward, as inconspicuously as possible, even as Eugeo's eyes shot towards all the adults surrounding them, as if fearing they were about to attack them or something. "We need to get you out of here!"

"Wa-wait, why would you…? Ah…father."

At her unexpected declaration, both boys' eyes shot back towards the center of the square, where a man of slightly dark hair and trimmed beard, his firm body dressed with a simple best over his normal clothes, his piercing gaze seeming unusually diminished as he walked towards the towering figure of the armored knight.

With one glance, one would be hard-pressed to say Gasupht Zuberg was Alice and Selka's father, even if the latter had inherited her hair color from him (Though slightly softer in the girl's case), but that was because both looked much more like their mother, Sadina, who probably was still in the house making sure the young girl didn't girl involved in the commotion.

"You honor us with your presence, esteemed knight." greeted the older man while bowing in greeting towards the silent figure clad in silvery armor. "I'm Gasupht Zuberg, village chief of Rulid."

 **"…overseer of the Norlangarth North Castle, Integrity Knight Deusolbert Synthesis Seven."** finally spoke the knight with a voice that sent chills down the children's spike, many of the villagers visibly shuddering at it too.

It reverberated in a completely heterogeneous way, with a steely hint to it, making it sound almost inhuman, his words somehow echoing into every corner of the square.

Eugeo felt his grip on the axe tightening, and for a second he almost swore he could feel an _angry heartbeat_ coming from it…

 _'Integrityyy… Knightssss…!'_

The green-eyed boy was unable to do more than gasp at the sudden hateful words that echoed inside his head before he felt Kirito's hand closing around his empty one, the black-haired boy still dragging his half-frozen friends out of the crowd as subtly as he could, his worried but determined eyes never leaving the armored form of the now named Deusolbert.

"Our most sincere apologies, Sir Integrity Knight. If we had known a keeper of order and balance from the world like yourself was coming, we would have prepared a worthy welcome for…"

 **"Such things aren't needed, nor can I accept them in the middle of my official duty."** declared Deusolbert while finally turning to look at the village chief, the darkness beyond the cross-shaped visor of his helmet seeming deep and bottomless for the suddenly intimidated man. **"Due to the violation of the Taboo Index by Gasupht Zuberg's daughter, Alice Zuberg, I have come to arrest her for interrogation, followed by her execution."**

The world seemed to suddenly lose all reason when those words registered in Eugeo's mind. He didn't care or even properly notice the people around them gasping in shock, he just let his body move on instinct and positioned himself before the now trembling Alice, Kirito having done the same just a second before, now actively trying to help his friend to move the girl away from there.

Small whispers coming from his right eye telling him that he shouldn't be doing so went ignored and drowned by the angry ones coming from, now he was sure, the Dragon Bone Axe.

"…Sir Knight…what sin has my daughter committed…?" spoke Gasupht with a mix of fear and disbelief in his voice, as if he didn't want to believe the knight's words but at the same time felt _compelled_ to acknowledge them as the truth.

 **"The Taboo Index's first chapter, third passage, eleventh paragraph: Trespassing into the Dark Territory."**

This time, the villagers' reactions weren't subdued at all. The commotion exploding among them was loud and visible even as every adult murmured the church's sacred phrase while slicing the 'curse protection symbol' over their faces.

The three friends froze, Kirito's eyes moving from side to side in panic, noticing how there would be no way they could keep retreating without anyone noticing now. At his side, Eugeo bit his lips while being keenly aware of Alice shaking form behind him, trying to drown out the whispers inside his mind to come up with a way of getting the girl out of…

"The-then…I will call my daughter here. We should hear the reason from the mouth of the person herse…"

 **"There is no need for that."** ominously declared Deusolbert while raising an armored finger…pointing straight towards where the trio of children was standing amongst the crowd. **"Because Alice Zuberg is right there."**

As one, the villagers parted away, scared/accusing eyes now focused on the three friends.

"Ah…"

The blonde girl whimpered. The green-eyed boy felt his grip on the axe tightening once again, his head filled with scared/furious whispers.

The black-haired boy simply stared right at the Integrity Knight, his fists closing and opening repeatedly.

 **"You and you."** muttered the armored man while completely ignoring the kid, signaling towards two of the closest villagers to them. **"Bring the chief's daughter here."**

Barely a second of hesitation was everything the men showed before moving to obey, to take a sweet little girl they had seen grow up, that had greeted them every time she saw them when going around in the morning for years, to the one demanding her execution.

Like sheep following the shepherd's will.

The moment they came close, though, and while it should have been obvious it was going to happen…everyone reacted with utter shock when Kirito jumped aggressively before the first one, pushing the surprising man off his feet before turning around, fist raised and soaring straight towards the second one's gut.

"Eugeo, take Alice and run!" screamed the black-haired boy as his punch drove all the air out of the wide-eyed man's lungs.

Shock and panic ran through all the presents except for the Integrity Knight, who only moved his darkness-covered gaze slightly towards the child.

For his part, Eugeo's body started to move, his usual hesitation forgotten thanks to the chaos and madness everything had become…until a sharp pain, stronger than anything he had ever felt, assaulted his brain, coming like a thousand needles straight from his right eye.

 _"What are you doing? The Taboo Index it's absolute. The very first clause, first passage, first paragraph, defined as the greatest sin…is that no one can betray the Axiom Church…"_

Gasping, Eugeo fell to his knees, the thoughts in his head feeling strangely alien despite how right he knew they were. In that moment, 5 more villagers jumped Kirito, shouts for him to stop being crazy and about how strong the kid was filling the area as he was brought down, face-first on the ground.

Alice was looking on with fear at her two friends before gulping and rushing forward herself, the green-eyed boy's gaze following her as she did so.

 _"No…"_

Midway, the basket she was carrying fell from her hands, spilling its contents into the ground.

 _"Alice, wait…"_

Milk and pie rolled and broke over the hot stone of the village's square, the carefully covered pieces of ice between them melting almost instantly at the sudden heat.

 _"Don't go…"_

And despite all of those thoughts, Eugeo couldn't find the strength to voice any of it out loud, the throbbing pain of his right eye stopping him from doing so, despite how Kirito was shouting endlessly for them to let him go and for Alice to come back.

Deusolbert looked down at the trembling blonde girl before him, who stared back while biting her lips, as if curious about the reason why her gaze didn't cower before his like that of every other person around except for the shouting boy.

The second of curiosity passed, however, and he simply brought out some odd tool from the back of his armor.

A thick iron chain with three leather belts attached to it in parallel, with a big loop at the tip of the chain…

 **"…village chief, bind the criminal."** ordered the knight with his emotionless voice while handing the tool towards the man beside him.

For an instant, Gasupht almost seemed to hesitate.

Then, with a resigned and trembling face, he turned around and kneeled over his daughter, who bit her lips with shaky eyes as the thick chains and belts were fastened around her.

"Knight-sama, this is a mistake!" screamed Kirito while still trying to free himself. "Alice didn't step willingly into the dark territory; she tripped and just touched it with her hand! It was an accident!"

Slowly, Deusolbert's helmet moved towards the black-haired boy's direction and…

 **"Is there any need of further acts?"**

…were the words that came from within the darkness.

Kirito's eyes widened, disbelief, horror and then anger shooting through the child's face.

"Gasupht-ojiisan, are you really going to just hand her over?! She's your daughter! Why aren't you saying anything?! And you all; are you really just going to accept this?! It's Alice! You have known her for years! You know she's harmless!" snarled the black-haired boy while thrashing against his captors. "Let me go! ALICE!"

Every single adult, though, was just looking at Kirito as if he was mad, as if everything that came from his mouth was nonsense…

 _"It is…even thinking of defying the Axiom Church, the Taboo Index, is madness, that's why he…why they all…"_

Once again, Eugeo found himself fighting against the thought that, despite being right, felt WRONG to him, his head throbbing in pain like never before, his right eye exercising a brutal pressure over him, as if his very soul was fighting a battle it could not win.

Even when the knight secured the end of the chain to the back of his dragon's saddle, he was still unable to even open his mouth.

Even when Alice gave him and his struggled best friend a resigned, if fearful, smile, while the knight calmly boarded his dragon, he was still unable to move.

No matter how much it hurt him, no matter how much he wanted to do something, whatever the hell was stabbing his soul from his right eye wouldn't let him, and his axe felt heavier than ever befo…

"I said… **LET ME GO**!" roared Kirito into the heavens while his eyes snapped open, a hint of wrathful _golden_ shining within them.

In a single instant, _something_ happened. In a single second, the world went _wrong_.

Power that didn't belong in this Reality was forced into existence by an anger-consumed Will, furious Imagination quickly Overwriting the World.

Like ragdolls blown away by a hurricane, the 5 adults that were pining the black-haired boy down were flung away, crashing painfully into other people or against the closest buildings, the sounds of bones snapping being quickly drowned by terrified screams.

Where Kirito had been standing, **Something** rose; something so tall it was clearly no child, clad in ever-distorting black and white, its eyes two never-ending voids and its face a carpet of absolute darkness that made the one in the Integrity Knight's helmet seem pathetic in comparison.

Finally exhibiting absolute shock, Deusolbert's head snapped towards the Anomaly as it MOVED forward, turning into a blur just as the knight swung his arm in its direction, forcing his own Will into the World as he did so, his Imagination shaping it into an invisible blade so powerful even the strongest steel would have been cut like butter under its power.

It broke apart like wet paper once it crashed against the _black-white blur_ , which then took a single step that cracked the rock of the whole square and took it just behind the dragon in the same instant.

The Integrity Knight didn't even have time to gasp before the _thing_ gripped his dragon's tail with brutal strength, making the flying beast scream in shock and agony as it felt its limb being crushed…

…and then the World reasserted itself, denying the phenomenon and enforcing Reality to return to what it should be.

All that was left after that was a gasping and disoriented Kirito of Rulid holding the way-too-big-for-him tail of an angry dragon, a shocked Integrity Knight staring at him.

Then, the beast roared and whipped his hurt limb to the side, slamming it against a wall and making the black-haired boy scream as blood escaped from his mouth, though his arms refused to let go of the tail.

 _That_ seemed to finally snap Eugeo out of his terror-filled shock, pushing aside the paralyzing awe that was still filling every single villager around and standing up.

He froze mid-action, though, the throbbing in his right eye coming back with a vengeance and forcing him to grit his teeth.

 _"I have to help him…Kirito…Alice…!"_

 _-No, I shouldn't. The Taboo Index is absolute. The Axiom Church can't be defied-_

 _"U-ugh…even…if that's true…my friends…my most important people…I can't…!"_

 ** _'INTEEEEGRITYYY KNIIIIGHTSSSS!'_**

The roaring wrath coming from the depths of the Dragon Bone Axe returned once again, but this time the boy didn't ignore it: He gripped himself tightly to it with desperation, remembering how it had drowned 'the other voice' (Which wasn't so much a voice as something _sealing_ his psyche) in his head before.

It was twisting and seemingly endless animal rage, the fury of an Apex Predator that had been denied, of a life that had been extinguished for seemingly no reason, and that only wished to take revenge for the wrong it had been afflicted with, causing a resentment so strong it had lingered on its remains countless years after its death…

The Dragon of the North Cave hungered for the Integrity Knights' death, all of them, until it found the one that had killed him. And while Eugeo of Rulid couldn't fully understand all of this, he knew one simple thing: He, a weak child, didn't have the power to overcome whatever it was freezing him in place. The ancient beast, however, had more than enough.

At that moment, consequences didn't matter anymore. Rational thought didn't need to be taken into account.

His two closest friends were in danger, probably going to die. The green-eyed boy couldn't allow himself to hesitate anymore.

The next moment, he was standing up, an inhuman roar exploding from the axe as it answered to his feelings and brutally dragged the child forward, the angry red flash now covering half his vision being ignored even as he felt as if his head was being ripped apart, the angry words written in Sacred Tongue engulfing half of his vision almost seeming to be screaming into his head.

'SYSTEM ALERT'

'CODE 871 '

Eugeo didn't know what that meant, but it didn't matter at the next second because he had taken 5 hurried steps dragged by his axe when his right eye burst into an explosion of blood and the sound of glass breaking.

It hurt.

It hurt more than all the things that had hurt the boy before in all of his life combined.

But it also made him feel _lighter_ than he had ever before. As if an invisible weight he didn't know he was holding had suddenly been lifted from his mind and soul. Through the pain, almost in slow motion, he could see the villagers' eyes widening as they finally noticed what he was doing, he heard someone (One of his parents, maybe?) start screaming his name, he saw Deusolbert's head slowly moving away from Kirito's body (Who had just been slammed against the wall…had time moved so fast in his mind?) to start turning his way, saw his friend's eyes widening in surprise and pride towards him, saw Alice shocked look…

And then the Dragon Bone Axe came to life, a minuscule part of the power it now slept inside it emerging thanks to its own Will mixed with Eugeo's suddenly freed one, causing the handle to grow…and several fangs, larger and thicker than a closed adult fist, to grow from the weapon's head.

The sudden weight should have made the green-eyed boy lose balance. Instead, not only didn't the axe feel any heavier, but he almost felt faster, as if the 'pull' it had over him had grown in strength.

Deusolbert had just finished turning his head towards him, still in shock from whatever in Stacia's name Kirito had done. The dragon was still with his reptilian eyes fixed on the black-haired boy that had somehow almost crushed its tail, not even noticing what had happened with the other child.

There was literally no time for them to do anything to stop Eugeo from plunging his axe on the flying beast's side, the fangs sinking through the armor, powerful scales and steel-like muscle as if it was butter, the strength of the hit cracking the bones on the child's arm. The effect was instantaneous.

With a pain-filled roar, the wide-eyed dragon shot into a frenzy and catapulted itself to the sky at alarming speed before its rider could do anything to stop it, dragging 2 more passengers than it should have with it and leaving behind a crowd of terrified/shocked villagers.

Eugeo screamed his lungs out as the wind whipped against him from the sudden ascension, only the months of endlessly swinging his axe against the Gigas Cedar having stopped him from dropping the axe the moment his whole weight was hanging from it. Idly, his eyes noticed smaller bones growing from the handle and painfully enclosing his hands, unwilling to let him fall no matter what, even as the dragon thrashed through the air and tried to dislodge him from its side, Deusolbert's shout for the beast to calm down falling on deaf ears.

Then, his gaze caught Kirito's, who was gritting his teeth and, slowly but surely, 'climbing' up the thrashing tail of the flying reptile, trying to get closer to its rider, giving him a nod and a tired grin before continuing. Turning his gaze to the other side, he saw Alice's wide-eyed expression as she hung from the leather belt and chains, looking at him as if she couldn't believe it.

 _"I…I can save her…I have to…save her…!"_

Giving out a grin that he hoped rivaled the ones he saw almost every day on his black-haired boy's face, Eugeo screamed and pushed himself upwards, the Dragon Bone Axe reacting to his 'useless' gesture and growing what seemed like massive ribs from the sides of its head, catapulting its user up and towards the Integrity Knight, his wish to save Alice overlapping with its own to kill the armored rider.

Axe raised over his head and still screaming like he had never before, blood covering his face from his missing right eye, the green-eyed boy swung down…

…and found a sword piercing through his heart and one of his lungs, exiting from his back as the shocked Deusolbert froze in place, clearly having acted on instinct as his whole body reflected clear shock.

Kirito stopped his climbing, staring wide-eyed at the scene.

A wordless scream escaped Alice's mouth.

Eugeo looked down, as if not understanding what was happening, even as blood ran down from his chest and mouth, taking a shaky step back off the shaking dragon, staring into the blackness that was the knight's helmet…

 _"Ah…I don't…"_

Deusolbert let go of his blade, still lodged through the kid's body.

 _"…I don't…"_

Taking another step back…the green-eyed boy fell off the dragon, staring emptily at the sky even as the blonde girl tried and failed to catch him, a futile endeavor in the first place given her bound hands.

" _I don't want to die…"_

On the back of Eugeo of Rulid's mind, something _cracked_ with painful force, just as his Life reached its last ten digits.

Then, his flailing body, never letting go of the Dragon Bone Axe, crashed into the river flowing beside the now slightly away Rulid village and sank under its waters, leaving behind only a bloody stain in the quickly moving river, vanishing from view.

"EUGEOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Alice as tears ran down his eyes.

"BASTAAAARRDDD!" roared Kirito while his eyes flashed a furious golden.

Once again, the World 'glitched' as Reality was forcibly Overwritten by something that did not belong there, the Anomaly's void-like eyes seeming to suck all light from the surroundings as his grip on the dragon's tail tightened and broke it effortlessly.

The flying beast's pained howl and dive at the sudden loss of its limb were almost enough to throw Deusolbert off its back, but he barely managed to hold on…just in time for a blur of black and white to seemingly teleport at his side, pinning him against his ride's back by the neck with such power that his helmet broke apart, the otherworldly visage it gave him vanishing and revealing the face of a man of about forty years old, his short hair and eyebrows of an ashen-red color, similar to rusted iron.

And as he stared up at the thing's darkness-made face, its distorted white fist coming down towards his head, Deusolbert Synthesis Seven knew he was going to die. He could see Death itself staring back at him from the depths of that punch…

…which stopped with the sound of shattering glass, just an inch from his face, leaving him now staring at the shocked and gasping face of the child from before, whose eyes were fixed in his trembling and non-advancing fist.

Because he could see the **_Chains_** , countless of tiny chains made not of metal but of something Beyond, surrounding his fist and creeping up his entire arm before stretching into the Infinity, out of his view, out of Reality itself, stopping him dead in his tracks, having nullified whatever he had been about to do, his mind foggy and unable to recall it once again.

No one else could see the phenomenon, though, and in Alice's eyes the boy had simply returned to normal all of a sudden and froze in place, just as…

"KIRITO, WATCH OUT!"

Almost in slow motion, Kirito's eyes moved away from his fist and the impossible chain holding it in place, already knowing what he would see from the sound of crackling electricity, the still back-down Integrity Knight having reached over his back and taken a hold of his inhuman weapons, which crackled with the fury of lightning in his hands.

Seeing them now, up close, the boy's eyes grew glassed again, like back in the cave, even as words he himself didn't understand came unbidden from his mouth.

"A-Class Hero, Rank 17, Lightning Genj…"

And then Deusolbert brought down the two Stun Rods (Name his mind supplied from 'somewhere') and enough electricity to kill several horses shot through Kirito's body.

Frozen, Alice was assaulted by the explosive sound of meat being charred before the smoking body of her last remaining childhood friend flew away.

She wasn't even able to muster the strength to scream again as tears streamed down her face, her eyes never losing sight of Kirito as, on the back of her mind, something _cracked_ with painful power.

"Goddesses above…Her Excellency was right…it's going out of control and affecting even children now…" muttered the Integrity Knight while trying to regain his bearings, gasping for air after having evaded a sudden and improbable death somehow. "No…those weren't children anymore…they were demons of…"

A sharp scream was all the warning he had before he was once again trying to calm down his pained and thrashing dragon, as the little girl they were carrying suddenly became a blur of speed inside her own chains, twisting and spinning in painful ways and faster than any human should be able to for a couple seconds before stopping, unconscious.

Down below, Kirito was vaguely aware of this as his body felt, his mind numb and the pain so great he almost couldn't feel it, the world spinning as he uselessly tried to reach for Alice, but Fate seemed to be really unkind that day as he spun until he was facing down, his gaze fixed on the incoming ground as he broke through the trees and headed head-first towards the dirt and…

…and Kirigaya Kazuto woke up in his bed, barely able to suppress a scream from escaping his mouth as he gasped for breath, his body drenched in sweat that had made his pajamas stick to him in an uncomfortable way.

Instinctively, his arm sought comfort in a body that wasn't at his side, and he was quickly reminded that Sugu was sleeping in her room, as that had been one of the rare days their mother was home early (They had dinner together and everything) and so she hadn't been able to come sleep in his room as she always did. Not that they did anything more than sleeping, cuddling and maybe kissing…at least in the real world.

That thought brought a small blush to his face even as he reached towards his desk and grabbed his phone, illuminating the screen and staring towards it with tired eyes.

It was 3:35 in the morning of May 26th, 2026. And this was the second time in 2 days that he woke up from a nightmare he couldn't remember.

Maybe it was the recurring dream he used to have after the fight with Equinox again? He hadn't mentioned it to the rest, not even to Asuna or Suguha, but after the insane events in 'Utopia' he had dreamed about the battle where he had defied the limits of common sense and human perception several times, more often than not ending with him waking up and feeling as if he was about to punch something. It never really ended with him feeling as terrified as he had the last 2 times, but that could very well be because it had been almost 2 months since he last had those dreams.

He was SO blaming Kikuoka's stupid part-time job for that. Three days straight of testing that strange and nearly sci-fi machine had probably messed with his head, never mind the fact that he couldn't remember anything of his time in FullDive for 'security purposes'.

After all the madness he had gone through, one would think that he wouldn't even think of accepting something so sketchy, especially when the last job he made for the man included hunting a mentally unstable killer with the ability to harm people in real life from inside a virtual world, who casually happened to have been enhanced with the powers of a super alien…but the pay for the seemingly simple work was just THAT good.

Kazuto may not be greedy, but he was still human, and given his situation, it wasn't very easy for him to get a part-time job.

His secret life as a vigilante with his adoptive sister aside, not many people offering jobs looked with good eyes at someone from the SAO Survivors School.

And also…he wanted to get the girls some gifts, maybe to the guys too if he still had money left after the former. His doubts about the long-term continuation of their bizarre but enjoyable relationship aside, these last months they had made him the happiest boy alive, and he felt that getting them some tokens of appreciation would only be right as their boyfriend, even if they would probably say it wasn't needed.

With a sigh, he decided those thoughts would be better left for later and let his head fall on his pillow again, missing Sugu's warm at his side even as he uselessly tried to recall what his nightmare had been about once again.

Strangely, though, a single thing came to his mind, which made him frown slightly as his eyes closed.

"…why can I only remember chains…?"

In that moment, as Kirigaya Kazuto drifted to sleep, many events across the land took place, seemingly unrelated but all of them connected.

Near a private psychiatric 'hospital', a scruffy man watched over the building silently from the shadows with some cheap-looking spy-glasses, munching on some, muttering curses under his breath even as he caressed the needleless syringe in his pocket with almost obsessive care, as if it and its deadly contents were like a good luck charm.

Inside the aforementioned building, guards and doctors felt a strangely oppressive atmosphere looming over them, not knowing why they felt so uneasy, ignorant of how, in one of the most secluded rooms of the facility, a red-eyed _thing_ decided he had been pretending to be human long enough and creepily stood up, endlessly whispered the name of his hated foe.

 **"KI…RI…TO…"**

In a dark room filled with screens and notes, a sinister-looking man grinned calmly while humming an old American song, doodling away on a piece of paper while he waited for a call from his old 'friend' confirmed the release of their other companion, the creepy drawing of a smiling and waving coffin almost being finished.

On the depths of what could arguably be called the most secret facility in all of Japan, two bespectacled men stared with serious faces at several massive monitors, the one standing nodding and commenting about how the 'Final Load Test' would be a success before walking away, even as the one sitting before the main screen took off his glasses and looked down with a hint of guilt in his eyes.

Visible on the screens, a massive city with immense walls that divided it into 4 parts could be seen, a 'tower' (Though the name didn't do the thing justice) that grew into the heavens standing on its exact center…and with strange, humanoid creatures standing atop all the outer walls, their several reddish eyes keeping watch over the outside, even as an armored figure with 4 crow-like wings flew over the area, heading for the tower, and another person in strange garments casually walked up a wall to shout orders to the creatures near his area, who immediately obeyed without any complaint…

Observing all of this and more with only an infinitesimal part of his absolute awareness, [FATE] sat on Its Throne Above Everything, the oldest Absolute One adopting something that, if It had a shape that could be understood by human minds, would have probably be called a 'pondering' stance.

All the while, 'Chains' kept pouring from behind Its 'Throne', endless weaved Concepts of Reality flowing without pause into the Omniverse, towards a very specific Universe, isolating it from the rest of the Network, turning the Future it was supposed to have darker and darker as the time for its End continued approaching…

'Down' on the very edge of Reality, a figure of infinite colors with a vaguely humanoid shape and eyes that reflected the Multiverse it was currently in stared at the advancing chains with something akin to sadness, if a being of his Level could truly feel something like that.

Even so, what couldn't be denied was that [DESTINY] wished for nothing more than for the macabre spectacle before him to stop, yet could do nothing to directly prevent it. The youngest Absolute One had no authority to defy a decision reached in tandem by all of his siblings, even if it was clear that none would be able/want to oppose [FATE] from the beginning.

Looking 'down', the One Who Ruled over Destiny waved one of his hands, letting 'something' that could vaguely be called a chess board (If those were in 6 Dimensions and with several layers of Reality put in the middle) appear before it.

Near the center, a King-like piece of black and white with a cape kept blinking in and out of existence, unmoving as chains kept being wrapped around it, threatening to erase it forever. The several pieces that usually stood by him (Among which stood up a Queen-like one with wheels and a katana, one with two blades and a robotic look, one with a rifle and a light-sword, and one with a golden blade and burning aura) were far away, on another level of the 'board', the Fate of their world having already decreed that they would fight their own battle away from him in the upcoming conflict meant to end them all…and they most likely wouldn't be able to reach him for help, as they should have, in time.

Meanwhile, the 'pieces' meant to stand by the King in black and white were being pushed away, the knight-like one being engulfed by icy roses and angry bones as its flesh under it seemed to rot, while the golden-silver queen, whose edges vibrated endlessly as if it was moving absurdly fast, was being surrounded by a lot of 'enemy' pieces, way more than they should have, caging her mind into oblivion…

No matter how one looked at it, it was a hopeless situation. Everything would go according to [FATE]'s designs, as it always did…

Or, at least, that's what [DESTINY] thought until his 'eyes' settled over the edge of that board's level, over the 'extra pieces', those that everyone has deemed as 'unimportant', whose own Destinies were barely intertwined with that of the chained Hero, with almost no relevance in the upcoming conflict…and that had also been 'changed' because of his oldest siblings designs.

With worse Destinies, yes…but also with more 'power to change it' than they should ever have had.

Slowly, casually, like someone would do when they pretend not to care, [DESTINY]'s hand passed over the small pawn-like piece whose top seemed like a crystal ball and, 'accidentally', knocked it over, letting it roll away until it stopped and stood up again almost beside the Chained King.

The effect was instantaneous, the pawn turning a strange black while the roots of an equally black tree engulfed her. Immediately, the Knight if Ice and Bones that had been drifting away turned around, pulled once again back to his partner's side.

One by one, ever so slowly, the other 'extra pieces' followed. No one seemed to notice the change.

A 'smile' appearing on his 'face', the youngest Absolute One leaned back.

[FATE] may have the absolute authority, but they were a lot of things that still could be done with the 'lowest authority'. This way, even if others that wouldn't have were drawn into the conflict, they would still get a small, minuscule, fighting chance.

The rest, however, was up to the One whose Fists could break through Fate's designs…

* * *

 **…**

 **…STARTING…**

 **…OPENING REPORT LOG.**

 **Report of Operation #94696. Designated 'Deusolbert Synthesis Seven' engaged in combat with an enemy over the 'Mountain Range at the Edge'.**

 _-Fluctlight #89877 'Deusolbert Synthesis Seven'._

 _-Divine Blessing: 'LIGHTNING GENJI' (Rank A). Allows knowledge for construction and operation of 'Stun Batons', plus configuring his own armor to feed them Elements to work whenever they're in direct contact with it._

 _Threat level to the Underworld_ _: None (Currently fully controlled by 'Synthesis Ritual')_

 _-Status: Loyal to the Axiom Church. Shaken by recent events. Suggested to get a 'promotion' to Central Cathedral and have his recollections of the North erased. Because of recent injuries, his dragon will most likely not survive unless High-Level Sacred Arts are used. Suggested to save the dragon so as to don't need to further erase recollections._

 **Minor but key data of enemy Fluctlight (Elimination confirmed) has been…** _01101000 01100101 01101100 01110000 00100000 01101101 01100101_ **…gathered.**

 _-Unidentified Fluctlight (Deceased)._

 _-Divine Curse: 'CRABLANTE'. Enhanced physical prowess several times beyond human limitations, with heavy mutations as a side-effect. Mutations replace arms with powerful pincers and a hard carapace covering the upper half of the body, allowing the Fluctlight a bigger versatility in combat, but decreasing the one needed for everyday life by a noticeable margin. Also, eyes become a glaring weakness, being the only organ exposed out of the carapace and directly connected to all other inner organs._

 _Threat Level to the Underworld_ _: Tiger (Minor)._

 _-Status: Fluctlight has been terminated and the 'Power' harvested. It will be sent back into the 'Cycle' and wait to be assigned accordingly._

 **Additional Report of minor incident. The same day as the previous engagement, an infraction to the 'Taboo Index' was detected. Deusolbert Synthesis Seven was dispatched to apprehend the Fluctlight responsible for the violation and was met by unexpected opposition that almost cost him grievous injuries, maybe even his actual Termination, by other 2 rebel units that protected the criminal. Both had apparently been affected by the 'Cycle', but were terminated by Deusolbert before info on their Blessings/Curses could be recollected. Also, the aforementioned 'Integrity Knight' reported that one of the rebels' power seemed to be unusually high and expressed in an anomalous way, that…** _01101011 01101001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01101101 01100101_ **…has been determined inconsequential. No more investigations for the are around 'Rulid Village' will be made.**

 **Furthermore, the criminal was affected by the Cycle in answer to the death of her two failed rescuers. This has raised her value priority even more. Suggested full induction of the Fluctlight.**

 **END OF REPORT LOG.**

 **SENDING TO ADMINISTRATOR…**

 **…**

…

…k…i…r…i…t…o…

* * *

 **SaintInfernalNeos presents…**

 **One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Hell yeah, we did it guys! And yes, I mean 'we', because without all the support of all you dear readers this prologue, and this story, would have never become a reality. Thanks a lot :3!

Well, how was it? Confused as all hell? Shocked? Maybe angry? If so, I have accomplished my objective of making this first prologue as 'crazy' as Alicization's first one was when I, and I'm sure everyone else, read it for the first time. Among the shocking events and the mindfucks, both of the plot and those that you know are original creations of mine, there are a lot of hints and references to both OPM and Alicization's mechanics/secrets that only those 'savvy' with both series will notice. For those of you that didn't, don't worry, they will all be explained in time, as this crazy plot that will only follow Alicization's main plot lightly unravels itself.

Also, wonder how many of you could see the 'hidden messages' there near the end? And how many more bothered in 'translating' them? And how few understood what they meant…? Heheh…

As for what that 'first part' was? Well, a few may have a small clue about it, especially with what I said before the chapter began, but for now don't worry about it and put it out of your minds. All that you need to know is that, somewhere, for some reason, someone else is being told this story :3

Okay, that's all for now everyone! See ya all next month in the next and last Prologue of this story! My summer job is still going on so it will probably take that long, sorry, but after that my free time should increase significantly again OwO Also, I'm wondering if, when we get to the actual 'chapters', I should stick with the OPM-like style for the 'next episode preview' or go a bit more original with it…what do you think? Also, would you like for this story to have Omakes too :P?

Until next time, this is Saint, signing off!


	2. Prologue II: Goodbye, Average Days

And here we are once again, everyone, with the second prologue of this long-awaited sequel! Before we begin, let me thank you all for the massively positive response to this story, it greatly surprised me, especially with how long it has been since the first part ended: Over 30 reviews and over 260 favorites and followers (Most of them during the first few days of it being uploaded!) for the first prologue were a shocking but not unwelcome surprise. Let's see how far we can take it!

That said, though, I want to address a particular review about a reader that clearly hadn't read the Alicization Arc of SAO and basically just wanted to say how 'pointless' he felt the previous chapter had been and that he had basically skipped most of it. I won't go into details about my conversation with him as it's a private thing, but I want to think I convinced him to fix that. I'm mentioning this because I want to make clear that NOTHING of this fic will be pointless, and everything in some way will be relevant to the plot. Of course, those of you who read Alicization don't need me to tell you this, none of you would have found the 'weirdness' of the prologue to be as confusing or strange as it would otherwise, so I want to recommend one last time to all readers that haven't that they go and read the arc of the novels before jumping into this story. If you still want to go ahead, well, I will try my best for you to feel 'comfortable', but be advised that you will most likely be scratched your head and confused about a lot of things for a bit of time, as many of the 'mysteries' of the plot will take to be fully revealed/understood if you haven't, and this fic is being written under the premise that the ones reading it have knowledge of the arc.

Even so, I still hope everyone going forward from this point can still enjoy the ride. Now, let's greet our favorite characters once again, and say goodbye to their happy and peaceful days…

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Prologue II: Goodbye, Average Days…**

 **May 27th, 2026. Kawagoe, Saitama. An alley somewhere in the center, 22:35…**

Gasping for breath under the small bit of moonlight that filtered through the tall buildings surrounding the area, the man looked around with wide eyes, cursing his luck as he turned another corner and desperately looked at his phone, wondering why in Hell's name had the GPS stopped working.

This wasn't supposed to happen; it should have been an easy thing. Sure, he was no big-time criminal or anything, but the 'art' and 'thrill' of making small thefts was something he had specialized in since he was young. When he had come to Kawagoe, a seemingly boring and peaceful town, he had thought it would be no different from the usual.

Of course, he had 'heard' the rumors, seen them online and as some small gossip in neighboring prefectures, but really, what else would he do but thinking they were just silly Urban Legends? The mere thought that such outrageous tales were anything but over-exaggerated fiction was beyond ridiculous…

And yet, here he was now, cold sweat running down his face as the distant sound of a bicycle's chirpy bell haunted him like the howls of war dogs coming for his head. At the same time, the vague sensation that someone was running after him never left his terrified mind.

Vigilantes. Fucking kids wearing honest-to-God cheap 'superhero costumes', going around fighting crime. And worst of all, instead of having died or gotten caught or gravely injured at some point, like common sense dictated should have happened, they had been successful and were still doing so without anyone stopping them (Or at least managing so).

And now, as he saw with horror as a figure atop a bicycle rounded the alley's corner some 500 meters behind him, he was paying the price for his confidence.

However, that did not mean he had resigned himself to the fate so many other petty criminals had suffered in that city and its surroundings. After all, while he was no professional bank robber or yakuza, the man had been perfecting the 'art' of pick-pocketing for a long time and had more than enough tricks to give the so-called 'Bicycle Girl' a run for her money.

The most obvious being that, while he obviously couldn't outrun a bicycle, he was more than able to jump over a nearby metallic fence almost without effort, use several trashcans as platforms and quickly hang from the side of a small window, throwing himself forward to grab the lowest point of a fire escape.

It spoke in his favor that he didn't stop to taunt the teenage vigilante with his finely developed parkour skills and instead he just kept running up the metallic stairs, a small grin on his face as he patted the several wallets he had secured on his backpack, none even open as he had been doing it solely for the thrill (Though he would obviously keep everything that was inside once he got to his safe house).

A blur of white at the other side of the street, in the opposite building's fire escape, informed him that the 'Caped Sidekick' had also found himself unable to follow, and a quick glance effectively confirmed for him that the caped boy with the scarf obscuring his lower face had stopped and was now just staring at him with narrowed eyes.

The man barely resisted the need to snort and instead turned away, quickly going up another set of stairs, having now almost reached the roof. Unless the helper of the more famous vigilante had the power to jump the 7 meters that separated the buildings, he would be unable to follow him in time.

With those thoughts in his mind, the long-time thrill-seeking thief reached the rooftop…and his world exploded with pain as something slammed painfully on his face, dead center on his forehead.

After all, with his outright dismissal of the vigilantes' existence as nothing but stupid rumors, there was no way for him to know about the most recent ones.

That there were no longer just 2 of them keeping the streets safe…but 3.

And that was why the arrow, with what seemed like a small metallic weight instead of an arrowhead, that hit him caught the man so off guard that he could only stumble back and slam his head against the metallic end of the fire escape, knocking him out instantly.

On the rooftop of the opposite building, the blue-hooded figure lowered her compound bow, slinging it over her back (Where a quiver with 11 more arrows and a familiar bokken rested) once again as her eyes, hidden behind old-looking aviator goggles, stared silently at the fallen thief.

A wide smile that was extremely uncharacteristic of her blossomed on her face.

"Holy shit, I still can't get over how satisfying that feels."

"Yeah, well, try and not let it get to your head, okay, Sinon?" joked Kazuto as he finally reached the roof, ignoring the mock-glare from the girl to admire her handiwork. "Man, I still can't believe how good you are even in the real world…haven't you thought about practicing Archery for real?"

"There is no club for it on my school, and that aside, is way more difficult to do so here than in the virtual world. I'm just very precise, but I doubt I would have what it takes to actually participate in long competitions or anything like that." commented the dark-haired girl while giving the boy a smile and walking towards the roof's edge. "Also, no matter how much practice I get in ALO lately, I'm still much better with a rifle…and my sword to back me up, of course."

"Oh yeah, how could I forget that…it really saved you at the last second in the last BoB, eh?"

"Yep. Honestly, that Subtilizer guy was going around all silent and believing himself almighty by killing everyone barehanded, but who the hell tries to choke from behind a girl that's famous for always carrying a lightsaber on her while unarmed?"

"I still don't know what was more shocking, if his face as you let go of Hecate, turned around and beheaded him before he could touch you or your deadpanning one when you actually saw him trying to pull that on you…you totally deserved that 1st Place once again, Miss twice-consecutive Bullet of Bullets Champion."

"Well, to be fair…"

"Hey, you two! Sorry to interrupt you, but we should get going already!" called out Suguha's masked form from the other roof, having finished tying up the thief after going up the fire escape and putting the stolen wallets all over him, a look of mock-anger that they couldn't really see (Reflective glasses and all) in her eyes. "I already called the police."

"O-oh, sorry about that, Suguha-sama! We're going!" hurriedly apologized Shino before rushing down the metallic stairs, ignoring the other girl's groans about not calling her 'sama'. "Quick, Kirito, come!"

"Hai, hai, I'm going…" answered Kazuto while shaking his head, before giving the heroine on the opposite roof a smile and a thumbs-up. "Don't forget to leave your 'card', Sugu!"

"Geez, I already told you many times, Onii-chan, it's OUR card, not just mine." complained the young kendoka with a small blush as she dropped the small object over the man's unconscious form. "It's not my fault Sinon-san designed it that way…"

With those words said, Suguha hurried back down the fire escape, eager to return to reunite with her 'partners' and her trusted bicycle.

On top of the thief that would soon find himself in a very uncomfortable situation with the local authorities, a small card of twin silver wheels over a red background rested, the images of a white fist and a blue bow at their sides…

* * *

"Ah…another night, another good deed." happily commented Shino as she, Suguha and Kazuto made their way towards the train station, where the bespectacled girl would take a ride to her home, having declined the boy's offer of following them home so that he could take her back on his bike. "I can see why you two keep doing this!"

"Yeah, helping those who need it and stopping those who think they can get away with making them suffer…it may sound bizarre when said out loud, but it just feels right when you do it." commented the young kendoka while idly caressing her bicycle's handlebar, everyone pointedly ignoring the 'purring' sound it seemed to release at the action. "Don't you think, Onii-chan?"

"Uhm, yes, I agree…" awkwardly muttered the black-haired boy while scratching the side of his head.

While it was true that a part of him also enjoyed what his adoptive sister/girlfriend had said, the main reason he continued being a 'vigilante' was to make sure Sugu, and recently Shino too, was safe.

Sure, it may be a bit hypocritical of him, especially considering the former was way better in anything physical than him, not to mention how easily he found getting in troubles himself.

Even so, and despite knowing how crazy and dangerous it was, he was happy, and they were too, and being honest, after what they had to face a couple months back in Utopia, taking care of petty criminals in town felt as threatening as taking out the trash. Plus, it helped that his absurd (And still secret) super-awareness let him do crazy things like those without risking breaking something, especially when chasing someone through alleys or rushing up fire escapes.

He was just thankful that he at least keep doing some light exercise lately to keep his body in at least enough shape beyond his old gamer-thin and muscle-less body (Even if Suguha and Asuna keep a sharp eye on him since he started that, apparently not totally willing to believe he wouldn't stupidly attempt to do Saitama's crazy training again in secret). He was no athletic star, but he was now more than able to take advantage of his beyond inhuman reaction time to make for a scarily good 'hero' in the real world.

The gamer had no desire to test if he could actually dodge bullets (He was 99% sure he couldn't), though, so he always tried to keep a careful eye in who they went after…which wasn't as easy or useful as it sounded, given that his adoptive sister would jump into the help of anyone who needed it almost by instinct.

Then again, there was that rumor online about she singlehandedly taking down 2 guys with a gun and a car, but whatever remained of his sanity at this point advised him it would be better not to ask about that…

"Well, here we are." declared Shino's voice once they reached the station, taking Kazuto out of his thoughts as the bespectacled girl turned to give them a soft smile. "Well, see you tomorrow, Kirito, Suguha-sa…Suguha. We will be meeting at the Dicey Café, right?"

"Yeah, everyone was lucky to get a full free day to meet IRL so we're going to take advantage of it." smiled back the young kendoka, grateful that her friend/fan was making an effort to call her just by her name like she had asked. "Plus, it can be like a delayed celebration party for you winning the 4th BoB!"

"Heh, to be honest, after the madness of the 3rd, I don't think I will ever feel that competition to be a challenge again." joked the virtual sniper while giving the boy beside them a meaningful look, making him chuckle awkwardly at the memories, only for her to them pat happily the sports bag she was carrying. "But at least the prize money let me easily buy this little baby, so it's not a problem."

While not as cheap as a random cape (Like the new one Kazuto had bought not long after his old 'costume' ended up all but destroyed), buying a composite bow with arrows without anyone finding it as anything suspicious was absurdly easy on the internet, and in Japan even more. The only 'hassle' Shino had found was attaching the small steel balls over the arrows' tips, and that had still been surprisingly easy with materials found in any nearby convenience store.

Honestly, it made the gamer wonder how no nutjob had tried something similar to what they were currently doing before, but maybe, in this time and age, they were the only ones crazy enough to do so.

"Anyway, it will be good to meet up with everyone IRL out of school and have some fun for a change, we have all been quite busy lately with exams and such…" commented the black-haired boy before stepping forward with open arms and a warm smile. "See you tomorrow, Sinon."

For answer, the girl stepped forward into his embrace and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, only a small blush appearing on her face as she did so.

It spoke a lot about them, of how just a couple of months back this would have left either of the two a blushing or awkward mess.

After Utopia, though, it was as if all of them had a whole new and much more open perspective of life.

"Try and not to get into troubles until then, okay? Suguha-sama won't be always there to help you out if you do." grinned the bespectacled girl before turning around and rushing into the station just as the announcement for her train being about to depart was made, waving back at them all the while.

"…you know, it never stops surprising me how warm and kind she actually is." muttered Kazuto as he watched the virtual sniper disappear from their sight, slowly turning to look at Suguha. "I mean, at first glance, especially given I met her in GGO, one wouldn't say that…"

Whatever else he was going to say was cut off as one of the two girls closest to his heart sealed his lips with hers, he holding her close and returning the gesture as if I was second nature for him.

"…sorry, I couldn't help it after watching her doing that." 'apologized' the young kendoka once they separated, leaning slightly on her bicycle as they lose themselves in each other's eyes. "Guess I'm still a bit childish that way…"

"No…I don't think you're being childish, Sugu." answered the black-haired boy before kissing her forehead, never letting go as her blush intensified. "Not at all."

"Onii…Kazuto…"

Both teens stared lovingly at each other eyes, the night around them seeming unusually warm and silent, as if enveloping them in a gentle embrace for…

 _'Ugh…could you please dump me behind an alley or something so that I don't have to see this?'_

…and all the magic was broken by the sick/annoyed incorporeal voice only the two of them could hear in the real world, making Suguha to glare at the bike she had half-forgotten she was still holding and Kazuto to release a long-suffering sigh.

"Justice! Why did you have to…?!"

"Uhm, I'm sure she just wanted us to notice how late it is getting, Sugu." interrupted the gamer with a strained smile, making the young kendoka blink and then gasp at checking it was almost midnight. "Isn't that right, _Justice-chan_?"

 _'…yes, sure, idi…Kazuto-kun. That's totally what I was doing.'_ 'joked' the strange entity with a very fake sweet voice.

The aforementioned bicycle had, by the way, a new and pristine-looking silver color, better wheels and a metallic basket plus a sturdy-looking rearview mirror, a much more 'professional' look compared with how it was a couple months before…especially after hers and the boy's 'Odyssey' into the Utopia Servers. And all of it had come straight from Kazuto's pocket.

However, the truth of the matter couldn't be changed: Justice's Wings did not like Kirigaya Kazuto, at all. And it couldn't be said that the gamer had much love towards the sword/bicycle/spirit (Or whatever) either.

…but both of them had now a begrudging respect for each other, the bicycle-entity more towards him that she would ever admit. The events of the 'Ragnarok' Day had made that an undeniable reality. That's why, even if it went against her very nature, Justice tried her best to not show her misery when her dear 'Master' lost herself in the happiness that just being with the boy brought her.

And, in return, when she accidentally 'slipped' like in this case, he would do his best to calm Sugu down, as apparently talking bad of him was the only thing that made the young kendoka angry with her 'trusty steed'.

It probably said something about his life that he had such a complex relationship with what was essentially a bizarre and unexplainable existence that went against nature like a talking bicycle-spirit (And even more that all his friends acknowledged her existence with complete seriousness), but at this point questioning their sanity or the normalcy of their lives was nothing but a joke.

The UHA knew they weren't 'sane' by the standards of normal people, in too many ways to count. On their favor, though, it was that warped mentality what drove them to fight Equinox and prevent what could have been the end of modern civilization.

"I-I see…geez, try to do it in a nicer way next time!" Suguha's words as she gently 'slapped' her bicycle's handlebar brought Kazuto out of his thoughts, even as she turned to give him one of those smiles that made his heart feel complete. "Ready to go, Onii-chan?"

"…can we go walking instead of riding?" asked the boy with a smile on his own, making the young kendoka blink in surprise. "I would like to spend some more time out here with you."

The widening of the girl's smile could have probably illuminated a whole house for days. Without saying anything, she took Kazuto's hand and, leaning against him, walked by his side while idly dragging her bike, both of them simply enjoying the calmness of the night and each other's company (While Justice did her best to keep silent and not shake in despair).

After all, the night could be quiet and happy here because it was getting much darker somewhere else…

* * *

Kanamoto Atsuchi knew something was 'wrong' even before the screams started and the lights of the building he had been keeping watch over for the last week flickered and died.

Frowning, the man known back in Sword Art Online as 'Johnny Black' considered his options, even as he unconsciously caressed the small object inside his pocket, the high pressurized and needleless syringe filled with succinylcholine, the 'IRL Death Gun'.

He had been in the middle of one of his daily fantasies about stabbing the thing on that bastard Kirito's face and laughing madly as the 'invincible virtual hero' died in agony when the feeling of 'wrongness' had hit him, quickly followed by the sounds of shattering glass, big things breaking and people screaming.

His 'good old boss', PoH (Smart bastard didn't even share his actual name with him yet), had him looking over the secluded building located very out of the way of the Tokyo Prefecture, near Mount Takao, because it apparently was where Xaxa, Shinkawa Shouichi, had been brought after the whole Death Gun Incident was taken down by their ever-hated enemy and he was arrested.

The fact that it was apparently some kind of mental medical facility wasn't lost to Atsuchi since the first moments, and his ever-amused boss had explained to him that, apparently, Xaxa had suffered some sort of unspecified mental breakdown after his capture for 'classified reasons', and had been brought there after being deemed 'unsuited' for a normal prison.

Of course, all of this just filled the fugitive with even more distrust and questions. After all, whoever they were (And it was clear they were powerful to some extent given what he had seen), why would they be interested in someone that could be mentally unstable at best and a drooling mess at worst? Were they THAT impressed with his actions during the Bullet of Bullets? Was whatever they wanted him for that important?

Then again, the only one who was actually risking anything with this was Atsuchi himself (Given that the other option was being caught by the authorities), so maybe he was just overthinking it all and it was really just a matter of they having nothing to lose and something to gain with all of this…

Regardless, the point was that PoH had tasked him with watching over the place daily, learn everything he could about it and, eventually, get Xaxa out. Leaving aside the fact that he was only one man with no special training of any kind and the place was well-guarded, he had also been told that he only had around a month more to accomplish his 'objective' before they considered him to have failed, reason for which he had been more and more desperate as the days went by and he was unable to come up with a way of even getting into the building without getting caught right away.

That, and his questionably sane mindset as an ex-member of Laughing Coffin, were probably what drove the man once known as Johnny Black to go against common sense and enter the ominous building with flickering lights from where screams no longer came.

Quickly checking the 'lobby' of the area, Atsuchi wasn't that surprised no one was there anymore. What made him grimace was that the screams had apparently come from the direction his dear boss had informed him Shouichi's room was located at (How he had known that was yet another mystery for the fugitive). Looking around once and failing to find any passable weapon besides a computer's keyboard (Which he carelessly disconnected from the one in the reception desk), the man walked into the building with careful steps, his eyes darting sharply all around him.

He supposed that, if worst came to worst, he could stab someone with the 'Death Gun' he still carried, dreams about using it on that Kirito bastard be damned, but besides the fact that he didn't even know if the thing still worked (He HAD the syringe in his pocket for months already, without knowing if it needed proper refrigeration or anything. For all he knew, the deadly muscular relaxant didn't work anymore because it had expired or something), he didn't want to risk leaving a body that would probably be quickly related to him around, and…

It was a testament to his messed up mind that Kanamoto Atsuchi didn't react beyond blinking in shock the moment he turned a corner and came upon the scene before what should have been Shouichi's room/cell, even if it brutally interrupted his train of thought. Namely, the fact that there was a broken steel door crumpled like cardboard and slammed against the opposite wall…and, if the blood dripping down on the floor was any indication, there had been a man behind it when it was thrown there.

There was also the body of the guard lying facedown not far from there in a pool of his own blood, too, with a hole on its back that made it seem as if something long and very sharp had pierced him from side to side, like an oversized needle…or a very warped _estoc_.

As if the Universe had been waiting for him to have that thought, the sound of strangely slow and deliberate footsteps came from the opposite end of the hallway, where the darkness and the several blown out lightbulbs conveniently kept everything from sight.

Two red 'dots' shone within the darkness as a barefoot humanoid figure walked towards him, blood staining almost every visible part of his body and part of the old-looking cloak that he probably had pilfered from another room, which hid most of his arms and cast unnatural shadows over his face, making the points of hellish red that were his eyes seem even more terrifying.

The fugitive's eyes, however, were immediately drawn towards the being's right arm because, unlike the left one (Which clearly belonged to someone who hadn't been eaten right and had spent all the time in a badly illuminated corner for months), what peeked from under the cloak was a long and jagged-looking thing, sharp and black, not quite made of metal but more like _bone_.

Also, the thing was covered in blood and being half-dragged through the floor, leaving a line of red behind it.

Staring straight into the blood-colored eyes of the abomination before him…Kanamoto Atsuchi raised his arms and walked forward without a care in the world.

"Holy fuck, Xaxa! What the hell happened to you?!"

 **"Joh…nny…?"** questioned the thing which had once been Shinkawa Shouichi, tilting his head in a disturbing way.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me. And let me tell you, this is both a relief and an annoyance. I mean, I was supposed to get you out of here, so the fact that you have managed to get out on your own kind of made the weeks I have spent stalking this place annoyingly pointless." explained the psychopath while nonchalantly walking beside the human abomination and patting his shoulder. "On the other hand, I had no fucking idea of how I was going to get you out and I was running out of time, so I guess you doing…whatever you did to look like that and escape is something positive. So! Ready to get out of here? I have a vehicle and a safe house waiting, and I'm starving…"

Any sane person in the world present to watch the bizarre scene would have agreed that the man known in SAO as Johnny Black was completely insane (And not in the 'nice' way the UHA was), for how else could he act and react so calmly at the horrendous impossibility and the brutal carnage?

 **"…yes…"** growled the being that could now only be called Xaxa, as whatever 'humanity' it once had seemed to have vanished from Shinkawa Shouichi. **"And…Kirito…must die…"**

"…well, now that's something we can still agree on, pal! And something tells me that, with your new look, it's not going to be too difficult." darkly grinned the fugitive before turning around, leading the march back towards the building's lobby. "Now let's get out of here before the cops or the government show up, okay? The boss doesn't like to be kept waiting!"

 **"The…boss…?"**

"Oh yeah, you will probably wanna know…PoH is back. He's the one that sent me for you."

 _Johnny Black_ received only a dark and inhuman chuckle in answer, which he quickly returned, like in the 'old times', even as the thing called Xaxa followed him like a drunken puppy, his ability to properly perceive the world around himself being quite questionable.

It still had, however, enough cognitive ability to be sure of one thing.

 _ **Kirito would die…**_

* * *

Watching the setting sun wasn't something most people actually did. Despite how many times media cited how beautiful this was, very few people did it in reality.

And, ethnically, this wasn't exactly that either, because the purple-haired Imp sitting at the edge of Aincrad's 22nd Floor wasn't in 'reality' as she watched the burning orb starting to kiss the land of the fairies' horizon.

Even so, Konno Yuuki didn't mind, for watching it within Alfheim Online, happy and 'alive', was more than enough for her.

After all, how many could say that they had somehow overcome Death and gained a bright future thanks to nothing but their beautiful bonds with irreplaceable friends?

Sure, the girl may not be made of flesh and blood anymore, only of data and who knew what else, but that was nothing she ever considered a problem.

Even as she caressed the majestic golden sword at her side, the girl that had become 16 just a few days ago (And it had been the best birthday party ever, organized by all the UHA and the Sleeping Knights, though she wasn't quite sure if it really worked given she couldn't 'grow up' anymore) only smiled and stood up with a content sigh.

"I wish you could be here watching this with me, Aiko-nee. But…I have moved on like you told me, and I'm happier than ever. The future no longer scares me; it just fills me with excitement, and…hope." whispered Yuuki while closing her eyes, listening to the sounds of Aincrad's evening.

Almost, she could hear Excaliber 'humming' at her side, like a silent answer of approval to her words…

"Yuuki! There you are!" happily called an ever-cheerful voice, making the Imp turn around to stare at someone who was quickly becoming the closest person to her after Asuna and Kirito, if mainly for the fact that she's one of the 2 that actually 'lived' with her 24/7. "It's almost time to meet up with everyone, you know? I and Yui-nee were getting worried!"

"Heheh, sorry about that, Strea! I just lost track of time watching the sunset." sheepishly apologized the virtual girl while the Gnome gave her one of her trademarks bright smiles.

"Oh well, we're not late yet so it's not a problem…race you to the log house!" suddenly shouted the Mental Health Counseling Program 002 while turning around and opening her wings, shooting over the forest in a blink. "Last one doesn't get to test the 'controls'!"

"Wha…?! Strea, no fair!" shouted Yuuki while catapulting herself into the air after her curious friend, a massive pout on her face. "You know I have been waiting to 'drive it' for days! Hey!"

It was amongst those shouts and laughs that a certain black-haired little girl sitting atop a giant elephant-jellyfish thing saw the two of them coming, the content smile on her face only widening when they did so.

"And there they are. Sorry, Tonky-san, Slendy, I gotta go meet with everyone." apologized Yui to the UHA's pet/friend and also their 'shy neighbor', the tall and sinister shadow stalking among the trees just calmly waving a tendril in answer while Tonky released a 'relaxed' sound when the MHCP-001 jumped from his back and turned into a small Navigation Pixie, flying towards the log house beside them just as the two newcomers arrived. "Strea, Yuuki-mama! Ready to 'drive'?"

"You bet, Yui-nee!"

"Yu-Yui, tell Strea to stop being mean and let me do it too!"

And, while all of this was taking place, in the real world, in a small but homely establishment called 'Dicey Café', Andrew Gilbert Mills, better known by everyone as 'Agil', was smiling softly at the sight of his favorite crazy guild cheering on an awkward-looking Shino while Keiko and Rika sang a song for her in the background, as a delayed 'celebration' for her victory in the 4th Bullet of Bullets (And partially that this time no crazy events like murderous villains or virtual superheroes had gotten in the way).

Truly, no matter the amount of impossible thing he had seen, and heard about, them doing, scenes like this reminded him that, for all their weirdness and amazingness, at the end of the day, the ones known through the virtual world as the United Heroes Association were just a group of overeager teenagers.

"Hey, Agil-san, bring another round of soda!" called Kenji with a bright smile, a hand raised with an empty glass. "This party is just getting started!"

"Yeah, and some more snacks too!" agreed Yonaga while giving the man a thumbs-up.

"Tetsuo, Sasamaru, cut it out." complained Takuya with a shake of his head. "We're all paying for this together, remember?"

"When Ducker is the one saying the smart things, you know is time to slow down a bit, guys." joked Toshiyuki while taking a sip of his own drink.

"Yeah, what he…hey! Keita, was that an insult?!"

"Nope, not at all."

"Leave him be, Ducker, we all know he's bored because he can't spend time with his girlfriend tonight…"

"Fo-for the last time, Si-Siune isn't my girlfriend!"

"…no one said anything about Siune, Keita."

"Ga-gah, you…!"

"Man, they should really learn how to be a bit more mature, those 4." commented Asuna while shaking her head, though the amused smile on her face betrayed her real mood.

"Leave them be, Aa-chan." commented Shiori with a nonchalant smile, lying against her chair with utmost relaxation. "One is only young once, so they should enjoy it while it lasts."

"Argo, you're a year younger than me; please don't talk as if you're an old woman." deadpanned the chestnut-haired girl while staring at her friend.

"Asuna, you know Argo likes to say things like that, don't take it seriously…" muttered Suguha while sweatdropping, turning again to give the still a bit awkward-looking Shino a smile. "Well, enjoying yourself, Sinon?"

"Yeah…and I'm being honest." confessed the bespectacled girl while her gaze moved towards the others still enjoying the impromptu 'karaoke' of the blacksmith and the beast tamer. "Funny, not even a year ago something like this would have made me feel more bothered than anything, but…"

"Everything feels nicer when done with friends, even things you never thought you would enjoy…right?" finished for her Kotone with a nostalgic look on her face. "Everyone here taught me that."

"Heh, you always say the nicest things, Philia, but don't talk as if you haven't changed us for the better too." told her Saori while giving her a playful push on the arm.

"Hey, hey, what are you talking about there?" grinned Rika while finally coming back to sit down among the group, followed closely by a slightly flustered Keiko, though she had clearly enjoyed singing with her first SAO friend. "Did we miss something while singing a song for our winner sniper?"

"I-I still think you're all making too big of a deal out of it…" whispered Shino with a small blush on her face.

"Don't say that, Sinon-san! Celebrating your accomplishments is nothing to be ashamed of! Just a proof of how you're progressing on your Ninja Way!" proudly declared the twin-tailed girl, before looking towards the unusually silent black-haired boy in the group with a shy and blushing face. "Ri-right, Kirito-san?"

"Uh? Oh, yeah, you're totally right, Silica." nodded the gamer while snapping out of his thoughts and giving the youngest girl in the group a soft smile. "Accomplishments must be celebrated, so please loosen up a bit, Sinon."

"Heheh, Kirito-san agreed with me…"

"Oh, Silica, grow up already. You have been acting all giddy every time he so much looks your way since he finally kissed you." offhandedly commented Rika while looking at her nails, making Keiko squeak as her face turned bright red in an instant, Kazuto chuckling awkwardly while the others just sighed.

"Are you truly one to talk, Liz?" challenged Asuna with a knowing look, making the blacksmith freeze at the words from the guild's second in command. "Do I need to remind you that you yourself were so out of it that day you almost walked right into that lamppo…?"

"Okay, okay, let's change topics!" quickly interrupted Rika with a furious blush, her eyes darting from face to face as if begging for someone to speak up.

"…we finally kissed last week…" muttered Saori with a content smile, gaining several surprised looks and even a couple of 'congratulations' from some of the group.

"Oh, woah, Sachi, congra…that's not changing the subject at all!"

"Hey, think you could tone it down a bit? We don't want Agil to hear you talk about that, remember?"

"Be honest, Ducker, you're just feeling incredibly jealous."

"Tha-that's not…!"

"Uhm, guys? That sound…?" Suguha's sudden comment made everyone blink, everyone turning towards the door in time to see how what seemed like the typical 'Dog Door' one would see in some houses, though this one was in the upper part of the door instead of the lower one, was pushed open by what most people would have thought was an unusual sight. "Oh, they're here!"

"You know, I still don't get it…" spoke Andrew while finally coming with the drinks and snacks they had ordered, his eyes fixed on the machine flying to join the group on their table. "Why do you even need that if you can just 'appear' here with the cameras and projection system you installed back after the whole Excaliber incident?"

The object in question was a 'drone', and a slightly expensive-looking one at that, of white color…who someone had modified slightly to attach the familiar, if clearly 'upgraded', form of the old 'Audiovisual Bidirectional Communication Probe' and a phone that had its carcass removed and the wires repurposed and connected into several parts of it before being covered with a new one that covered it whole.

"Because this way it feels way more exciting to 'come' to your bar, Agil-san!" cheerfully replied Yuuki's voice as the device's camera rotated 180º to look at the amused-looking man. "Also, it's great that we have a way to go around the real world whenever we want without bothering others…and we even do it flying! How cool is that?!"

"Very much so, I believe." kindly answered the oldest SAO Survivor present with a kind smile.

Plus, it didn't hurt that a few people usually followed the curious drone all the way to his café whenever they came. As odd as it was, that kind of free publicity was always welcome.

"Just make sure to not crash that anywhere, okay? I, Sachi and Kirito spent a week straight with almost any sleep just to create the software to coordinate the controls between the drone, the probe, and the virtual interface!" complained Toshiyuki while grabbing some of the snacks, an amused smile on his face.

"Don't worry, Keita-san! We always have a special system up to keep our possibility of accidents to a minimum, and we always keep an eye on anything too close to us in 3 dimensions when we're flying from a place to another!" happily informed Yui, puffing out her chest as she stood up from the guild's log house biggest couch.

Currently, the room around them had its illumination 'dimed' while big and complex-looking holo-screens surrounded the 3 virtual girls, the biggest one before them showing the ample view of the people in the Dicey Café.

"We're running a bit low on fuel, though." commented Strea while scratching her chin. "We will have no problem getting the 'Skidbladnir' back to Kirito's house, but for safety reasons, we should probably refuel after that before any further use!"

"I still can't believe you named the drone, and something so weird at that…" muttered Yonaga with a disbelieving look aimed at the small plastic 'badge' on the machine's side, which proudly declared the name in western characters.

"It's like a 'ship' for us, so of course it needed a name, Sasamaru!" pouted Yuuki as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And what better name than the most awesome ship in all of Norse Mythology?"

"She has got a point there, let them be, Sasamaru." added Saori with a scolding tone while pointing a finger at her long-time friend. "Besides, there couldn't be any better 'pilots' for it, it's only just they got to name it!"

"Ugh, even Sachi is against me…"

"Anyway, we came very fast because we finally wanted to know about Papa's mysterious job of last week!" Yui's voice suddenly made the entire group blink, eyes shooting towards their guild leader and dearest friend as he looked caught off guard by the declaration. "He has been avoiding the topic every time we asked him since back then because it's supposed to be 'super-secret', but he said he would tell us in time…"

"Ye-yeah, Yui is right, Kirito!" nodded Rika with a relieved smile, happy at the unexpected but welcome change of the previous topic. "You have had us in suspense about that for long enough, start spilling out those secrets!"

"Indeed, there shouldn't be any secrets between us, especially not after everything we have been through." opined Kotone with a serious look, before blushing and looking to the side. "Tho-though maybe it's truly something he isn't allowed to talk about, so…"

"No, Philia, it's okay. Sugu has also been bugging me about it lately, so I was going to tell you all soon, but I guess now is as good time as any." spoke Kazuto with a smile on his face, twitching slightly when his blushing adoptive sister gave him a soft hit on the shoulder at his words. "As you all already know, Kikuoka wanted my help testing out a new FullDive machine on a company he worked for in Roppongi…"

"That's basically the only thing you told us, sensei." muttered Asuna with a small frown, the black-haired boy easily noticing the distaste the government officer's name caused her and the others. "But you never…"

"Went into details because it's a top-secret thing, yeah. Honestly, though, Kikuoka should have known better than thinking I wouldn't tell you all…though well, in a way I guess he did." spoke the gamer with a frown on his own.

"Wait, what?" asked a confused Toshiyuki at the boy's words, everyone exchanging similarly confused gazes at that. "What do you mean by that?"

"Because I can't remember anything that happened during the FullDive for the main testing phase of those days." revealed Kazuto while taking a sip of his drink.

The ensuing silence could have been broken by a fly landing nearby and it would have been more thunderous than any bullet being shot beside the group.

And then, the expected storm.

"What?!"

"What do you mean you can't remember anything?!"

"Kirito, if this is a joke, it's not…"

"It's no joke, everyone, just part of the agreement I made." sighed the boy while shaking his head before giving them all a serious look. "The machine I helped test is called 'Soul Translator', or STL to abbreviate."

"…that's quite the ominous name, Kii-bou." commented Shiori with a sharp look, her gaze fixed over her best friend/boyfriend. "Please, tell me it's just for show."

"I wish…the thing, supposedly, does exactly what its name implies: It 'reads the soul' of a person to work." looking around, the gamer knew everyone's attention was now absolutely fixed on him, and he could almost see Yui opening a window back in ALO to note down whatever he said. "I won't bore you with the details, it's a lot of very complicated stuff about quantum technology and computers that, honestly, it was a bit boring even to me, never mind absurdly complex, but the gist of it is this: The 'soul', or human consciousness, does exist. Not in the 'religious' or 'philosophical' sense, that's up for debate, but as an actual computable and real 'substance', a collection of light particles that act as the quantum unit of the mind and exists within the microtubules of a nerve cell, and constantly fluctuates according to the probability theory. That's why the guys from Rath, Kikuoka's company, have called it 'Fluctuating Light', or 'Fluctlight' to simplify it."

"That's…that sounds…"

"Crazy and unbelievable, yet amazing." finished the group's info broker what Asuna had apparently been trying to say. "Even more so when I can say you have dumbed it down a lot and I can barely wrap my head around it, while I can see Tetsuo, Ducker, Sinon, Silica and Sugu having the same problems."

None of the mentioned people made any effort to hide their embarrassment or deny the words. At this point, the UHA knew each other as if they were family, and, in some cases, they were closer to the rest than they were with their actual families.

"It…doesn't stop there, right Papa?" asked Yui with the utmost seriousness, taking notes of everything she was hearing while Yuuki and Strea looked quite lost at her sides, only having grasped the basics of it all. "You still haven't told us how this STL works…"

"Well, it's more or less like this, again in simpler terms: The Soul Translator is capable of recording the 'memories' within the Fluctlights and thus translate the information stored within them into a form readable by computers…or the other way around. Translate the information stored within a computer into a form readable by the Divers, that is. However, unlike the current FullDive machines, the STL does not use polygons for the 3D models it creates. Instead, it uses a new method, called 'Mnemonic Visual Data' (Optical memory information in simpler words) to realize the sensations of the virtual world, basically inserting them on the Fluctlight's short-term memory region, so…"

"It directly manipulates the 5 senses at the level of the 'soul'. Basically allowing it to create a 'perfect illusion' that cannot be differentiated from reality." cut him off Toshiyuki with wide eyes, even as Shiori, Saori, and Shino suddenly got a tense look in their eyes at those words. "Like…"

"Like Eve's power." finished the youngest member of the old Black Cats while looking down at her hands, clenching them visibly as haunting memories came back to her, Yonaga and Kotone holding her hands with worry. "But…deeper? More powerful?"

"Much more powerful. The 'worlds' it can generate using that method…they're not like any of the virtual worlds we know, at all. Even the level of realism Equinox put into Utopia falls short." continued Kazuto while looking towards the window, ignoring everyone's worried gazes as he suddenly seemed lost in a distant memory. "During the initial testing phase, they let me see a basic plain near a mountain, with a river on its side, and…everything felt truly REAL. I could feel the wind in every inch of my face, the coldness of the water as I touched and drank from the river, and every single patch of grass on the ground. If I hadn't _known_ I was inside a virtual world, I could have sworn I was just somewhere out in the country."

"…okay, definitively amazing. And scary, too." muttered Shino while taking off her glasses, staring at them with a clearly reminiscent look. "To be unable to differentiate between reality and a virtual world…it sounds even scarier than what Eve could do."

"…she was using it for the wrong reasons, though. To hurt people…to help Equinox with her mad plan…" as she spoke those words, Strea looked towards the suddenly silent Yui, both her and her sister clearly remembering that day, how both of them had been forced to end their demented 'sisters' to save those they considered their real family. "Kikuoka may be an idiot, but he would never use it for something like that…right, Kirito?"

"I…think so, yes." seeing that his answer had only made everyone look at him in alarm, the black-haired boy gave his family in all but blood a wry smile. "As I told you, I can't really remember it."

"But…you just told us…"

"That was the initial testing phase, Sugu, just to see if I could properly experience FullDive with the machine without any complications." clarified the gamer while squeezing his adoptive sister's hand. "The real main phase used the Fluctlight Acceleration and, for privacy and security reasons, I had to sign a contract to confirm I was okay with being unable to remember anything that happened during it…"

"Wait, wait…I really want to ask about the whole 'not remembering' thing, but this sounds even more serious." interrupted Rika with narrowed eyes. "…what is 'Fluctlight Acceleration'?"

"Is…probably the most impressive ability of the Soul Translator, at least in my eyes." answered Kazuto while taking a deep breath. "Do you know a person's 'sense of time' is subjective? How, in a moment of danger, the body produces adrenaline that makes the time flow seem slower or how time seems to fly by when engaging in a relaxing chat? Well, Rath's research discovered that, surprise, the Fluctlight is what controls a person's sense of time."

Also, in a way, he was probably the only human being in the world that had some form of 'control' over said 'sense of time' without the need of any machine, what with his 'Saitama Reflexes' and his ability to willingly turn them on and off, but that was something that not even his friends knew so he sure as hell wasn't going to tell Kikuoka about it.

"…holy fucking shit." flatly spoke Shiori once the boy's words registered on her mind, idly noticing that this time _everyone_ seemed to have grasped what he was saying (Judging by their wide eyes), even the 3 watching for the virtual world. "Are you saying…that the Soul Translator can also control that? That it can…?"

"Accelerate someone's sense of time so that, for them, time goes much slower while inside the virtual world you're Diving in with the Soul Translator, yes." confirmed the gamer with a serious look, even as everyone around him tried to digest the revelation. "Get now why I had to sign something to legally keep this a secret?"

"Yes…I think we do…" whispered Shino while biting her lips. "It sounds like some crazy sci-fi plot, but given your look, I guess you got actual proof of it somehow…?"

"I did. During that first test phase I told you about? I was a bit over 20 minutes inside that field with the river. Not even 10 had passed when I came out, I checked." explained Kazuto while raising his phone. "I also had Yui check my phone after coming back to make sure no one had tampered with the time while I was Logged In."

"So that's why you asked me to check that…" muttered the youngest-looking AI while looking at her notes, a part of her doubtful if to find all that information amazing or frightening. "Papa…how far can this 'Fluctlight Acceleration' be taken? How many times can they 'Accelerate' your thoughts?"

"Kikuoka told me that around 5 times, but they only had it up to 3 while I was inside." even as those words escaped his mouth, the black-haired boy wondered why a part of him felt they were… _fake_. "As such, I was more or less a week within the virtual world they were having the Main Phase take place in for…"

"…Kirito-kun." Asuna's tone made many shift nervously or look at her with tension, as when she spoke on it while also not calling the gamer 'Sensei' they all knew she meant serious business. "You still haven't explained the most important thing: Why do you say you can't remember what happened during the Main Test Phase?"

"…think back on everything I have told you that the Soul Translator can do, okay?" asked Kazuto while sighing once again, his attempts on delaying that last bit of info from being commented having failed. "It's basically able to 'read' and 'write' into your very soul, the latter by sending images straight to the part of your consciousness in charge of short-term memory. As such, it's not strange that it can… _take away_ anything it has 'written' on the Fluctlight, right?"

Kirigaya Kazuto thought he would never feel anything closer to the 'Silence' he had experienced when walking through the virtual nothingness in which Equinox had turned Utopia's virtual space when trying to sink everything into the virtual void.

However, the absolute stillness in which the interior of the Dicey Café was left after his last words certainly rivaled it on his mind. The way in which every single one of his friends was looking at him in that moment was very unsettling, too.

"Kazuto…let me see if I get this right." slowly spoke Suguha with a deadly low voice, the lack of 'Onii-chan' in the sentence being even more damning that Asuna not having called him Sensei earlier. "You agreed to work, _again_ , for the guy who sent you to track down a psychopath killing and hurting people from the virtual world with virtual superpowers given to him by a mad AI. By testing outrageously advanced technology that let the aforementioned shady guy _reach into your soul_ , accelerate your perception of time, then _mess with your memories_ so that you didn't remember anything about what you were doing?"

"Uhm, when you put it like that it sounds really bad, but…yes."

The boy didn't need any esoteric powers to predict the storm that followed.

"Are you insane?!"

"Kirito, what the hell?!"

"Seriously, Kii-bou, what were you thinking?!"

"Sensei, are you out of your mind?! You know you can't trust Kikuoka!"

"Onii-chan, I thought you promised you wouldn't do another crazy thing behind our…!"

"Everyone, calm down, please!" shouted the black-haired boy while raising his hands, not knowing if he should feel glad or not that Andrew had decided he needed to 'check something on the back' before the mayhem started. "I judged the risks very well and also deduced Kikuoka wouldn't try to double-cross me, not after the whole mess with Death Gun. Besides…I needed the money."

"Money? Seriously? How much could he possibly have paid you that you thought it was worth that risk?" asked Kotone with narrowed eyes.

"Uhm…"

Back where he was 'checking things' on the back of his café, Andrew cringed as he heard the sudden scream of 'WHAT?!' coming from several people at once.

"He paid you that much for basically going around in a virtual world just 3 days?! Most of which you can't even remember?!" shouted a wide-eyed Toshiyuki while, behind him, Kenji and Yonaga calculated numbers with shocked looks. "That's…that's more of what someone working a full month on a good Officine job would get!"

"Yeah, I know…" taking a sip of his drink during the momentary calmness, Kazuto took a moment to stare at his distorted reflection on the liquid. "That's why, after thinking everything carefully, I accepted."

"…what did you want the money for, Kirito?" questioned Yuuki with a curious tone, no other feeling on the virtual girl's voice as she spoke after an unusually long (For her) silence. "I know you; money alone wouldn't have made you do that without telling us right away unless you had an important reason."

"…I wanted to buy some gifts for everyone with a bit of it…and then use the rest to finance the development and marketing for the Skidbladnir's tech."

The boy's latest revelation left everyone stunned once again, even as he looked at them with a soft smile, his eyes seeming as inhumanly determined as when they had seen him fight in the virtual world.

"Wait…are you serious?" muttered Saori as if she couldn't believe it. "But…that much money…"

"Won't be better used anywhere else." cut her off the gamer with a firm but kind tone, before turning his gaze towards the still stunned Toshi. "You said it yourself, Keita, with our current resources there isn't anything better we can do for either the software of hardware, and we can't ask for more from the school's club because at this point it's more of a personal project than anything school-related. If we want to make it easier to use and more affordable for other people to get, then we will need to pay for all those upgrades ourselves. I just wanted to make that 'wishful thinking' into a reality."

"You…are really going to do it, then?" it was obvious that the ex-leader of the former Black Cats had trouble believing what he was saying, even as he stared at the boy…no, the young man he trusted more than anyone in the world. "You are going to finance and sell the tech?"

"No, WE are going to do it. I already called Dr. Kurahashi from Yokohama's hospital. He said they would be interested in testing it." grinned Kazuto while raising a determined fist, even as Yuuki gasped in surprise at the familiar name. "This project is as much mine as is yours, Keita. And everyone else's too."

"Wa-wait, what? Sensei, most of us didn't do anything to help out make the Skidbladnir, or the original tech for the Probe!" refuted Asuna with a flushed face while the rest of the group exchanged similarly confused looks. "It was all you, Keita-kun and Sachi-san, with Ducker, Tetsuo, and Sasamaru backing you up from time to time, and…!"

"And we wouldn't have the motivation, or even be here, for having done so, if it wasn't for everyone else here." interrupted the boy with a soft smile, making her stop dead in her tracks. "Tell me I'm wrong, Asuna."

As one, the old Black Cats stopped over the gamer that, long ago, had saved them from dying under the wrath of a two-headed giant, before they moved towards the rest of the group, all those that were also SAO Survivors looking back at them as they recalled their All-or-Nothing fight against Heathcliff.

Asuna found her hand being squeezed by Saori's, the once shy girl giving her a kind look, both of them suddenly recalling a red room as a door closed behind her and how the chestnut-haired girl had rushed in to save her life in the nick of time.

Kazuto just had to close his eyes to remember every single moment spent beside them or just exchanging some words with them had brought strength back to his soul, the necessary drive to keep going despite the many troubles and inner-conflicts his seemingly amazing 'powers' brought him.

And also to recall how battered they looked after the Utopia battle. And how he had sworn that he would never allow anything similar to happen again as long as it was within his hands.

"So, basically…you're saying we should, like, form our own company or something to make and sell this, right? Well, I'm totally in!" cheerfully confirmed Rika while raising her hand. "I have no idea about mechatronics, but can help out with publicity and similar stuff! I'm good at making more than just godly weapons, you know? And Silica can totally help me with that!"

"Ha-hai! Liz-san is right, I can make sure everything we make looks amazing a-and cute enough for everyone to want it!" declared Keiko while puffing out her non-existent chest.

"I and Yuuki-chan can run public relationships!" cheerfully added Strea while jumping in place as she stared at the group through the holo-screen, looking all pumped up. "And Yui-nee and Argo can take care of the finances!"

"Hmm! I can certainly do that!" nodded Yui while raising her own closed fist.

"Heh, I guess it couldn't hurt to try something like that." chuckled Shiori while giving her approval.

"Pu-public relationships? But, I know nothing about that…" mumbled Yuuki with a bit of doubt, though there was a clearly excited glint in her eyes.

"And me, Suguha and Sinon can be like security or something along those lines." smiled Kotone while propping her elbows on the table. "My skill with the blade is good enough to translate decently to the real world and make up for my lack of physical endurance…though I don't think I would compare much to the famous Bicycle Girl and Feline Archer…"

"Kuh! Did you have to bring that accursed name up, Philia?!" groaned Shino with a pained look on her face, even as several members of the group couldn't help but chuckle. "Shu-shut up, all of you! Ugh, Asuna, I swear I'm going to kill you for that…"

"I-I told you it wasn't my intention, Sinonon, really!" nervously apologized the aforementioned girl while sweatdropping. "How was I to know you would actually go around as a vigilante wearing _that_?"

The 'incident' that was being referred to here dated to back when Shino officially announced to the group she would be 'helping' Kazuto and Suguha with their 'vigilante activities' after the obvious round of worried objections and wishes for her to be safe, Asuna, in an act of kindness, had decided to help her get the base of her 'costume' by gifting her the aviator goggles she still used today, and an old hoodie she had found among her old clothes…

Sadly, neither she nor the excited bespectacled girl had realized the thing had some small 'cat ears' as decorations on the hood-part until two days later, when the high of patrolling the night together with her heroine and her boyfriend had worn off from Shino's mind. The Kirigaya siblings had 'apologized' to her outraged self by saying they had honestly thought she knew what she was wearing.

As such, despite having changed into a new and more normal 'hood', people in the newspapers and in the rumor mills all around had already branded her with the, for her, cringe-inducing name of 'Feline Archer'.

"Now you understand my pain." whispered the present 'Caped Sidekick' while finishing his drink, only smiling wryly when the bespectacled girl's glare fixed on him.

"Onii-chan…well, I accept it, this all sounds great and the thing of stupid selfless thing you would do, but please, next time at least warn us, okay?" softly pleaded Suguha while grabbing the boy's hand. "Anything could have happened to you if you were just a bit wrong about Kikuoka's intentions."

"…you're right, Sugu. It's not enough that I just come out and tell you about these things, like Philia said, I shouldn't keep secrets from you…" closing his eyes, the gamer felt suddenly bad for his oldest 'secret', that of his inhuman senses, but that fear of losing whatever remained of his normalcy still gnawed inside of him like a dark plague. "And…I…"

 _The virtual entity of heterochromatic eyes smiled at him, her body and her very existence breaking apart as the world around them collapsing because of his fists…_

 _"Perhaps you will be…able to stop the nightmare that's coming…though who knows how much of you will be left when the world no longer needs Kirito…"_

"…I just want to have a normal life from now on."

"Well, then you should stop getting involved with crazy things like this, man!" joked Kenji while slapping him on the back. "I mean, all that stuff you told us sounds so top-secret they could kill us for it!"

"Oh no, that's an exaggeration…at best I would be arrested and you all would be forced to sign a similar non-disclosure compromise and kept under constant vigilance if someone knew I told you all of this." casually revealed Kazuto while reaching for the small cup of ice-cream someone had brought earlier for him, eating it with a satisfied look while everyone gawked at him.

"Then why the hell did you risk telling us that?!" shouted Shiori what everyone was thinking.

"Uh? Didn't I just say it? Because Philia said we shouldn't keep things from each other…"

While feeling truly touched, most of the group suddenly understood Kikuoka Seijirou's decision of erasing the memories of whatever the boy had done during their super-secret test of highly advanced and scarily powerful virtual tech…he would have probably not given it a second thought on telling them all about it.

Nevertheless, between exasperated smiles, sighs and pats on the back, the United Heroes Association descended into an amicable chat while they talked about their plans, even as Yui and Strea told them they would show them all a 'surprise' the next day (It seemed it was finally time to reveal their 'small gains' to their human family).

And it was between this good atmosphere that, half an hour later, the group said their goodbyes and walked away in different directions, most of them heading directly back to their homes except for 3 of them, two of which were accompanying the last one to her house before they would head back to their own.

Staring at the trio from a nearby rooftop, the sinister form of an unkempt man smiled darkly.

"Found you…"

* * *

Enjoying the warm atmosphere of the Spring evening turning into night, Kazuto, Suguha and Asuna (This one carrying a closed umbrella in her right hand) walked towards the latter's house in a happy silence, both girls at the boy's sides, the relaxed atmosphere around them being something that not many people would ever attain on their lifetimes, yet the 3 younglings had done so in just over a year.

Then again, it probably was because of the strange yet strong bond they shared. Even if the rest of the girls were trying their best (At their own pace), they hadn't been able to reach this 'level' of comfort and peace when they were just with the boy and each other, able to be truly relaxed and without anxiety just by walking side by side in silence.

"The weather keeps getting warmer these days, uh?" muttered the young kendoka while taking off her jacket with a small sigh. "Soon even the nights are going to be a pain…"

"Well, summer is coming soon so it's only natural." pointed out the chestnut-haired girl with a soft smile. "Oh, we should all go somewhere together during the holidays, don't you think? How about the sea?"

"A-ah, we-well…"

"C'mon Suguha-chan, you're a much better swimmer now! Don't tell me water still scares you?"

"I-it doesn't! It's just that, well, there is a difference between overcoming my fears and actively looking out to drown myself…"

"See?! That attitude isn't going to help you fully get over your fear of water ever!"

"Guh…yo-you don't know that, Asuna!"

"The way in which your face flushes when you say that says otherwise! Don't you agree with me, Sensei?!"

When the silence at her question extended into the 3 seconds, both Asuna and Suguha blinked and turned around, seeing how Kazuto had stopped at some point and was now just staring at the now fully dark sky, the lights of the area not letting any star to be seen…

 _His body moving faster than light itself, his thoughts somehow managing to catch up, his will letting him know where to aim despite not being able to 'see' like a normal human should in such impossible conditions, even as his fist crashed against the virtual entity and shattered her temporal avatar into nothingness, hurting her all the way to her core existence…_

"Onii-chan?"

"Ah! So-sorry about that, girls, I was just…lost in thought, heh…" lamely answered the gamer while scratching the back of his head, making both girls exchange a look. "But I actually do think that going to the beach this summer would be a good idea…"

"Sen…Kirito-kun, are you okay?" worriedly asked the boy's first and closest friend, not to mention girlfriend, while putting a worried hand on his arm. "You have been a bit…'off' since we talked in the café…"

"…sorry, it's just that…I guess I have been thinking a lot, these past days." confessed Kazuto while walking forward, even as his adoptive sister gave him a gentle squeeze on the hand.

"About the whole deal of finishing and selling the probe's tech? Of making our own 'company'?" kindly questioned Suguha while smiling at him.

"Yes, but it's more than that…I guess you could say I have been worrying about the _future_ lately." clarified the black-haired boy while stopping, sighing before giving them a tired smile. "Asuna, by next year, you and Liz would have graduated already, right?"

"Eh…? Ah…yes. I hadn't given it much thought, but…you're right." mumbled the chestnut-haired girl while suddenly looking troubled.

"…Onii-chan…could be it be that…you're worried about what will happen after that? Is that it?"

"Without us almost noticing, time keeps moving forward, Sugu. Who knows how many changes we will have to face soon, and after that even more. I guess I just…"

 _Standing on Nothingness itself, the maddened screams of the virtual entity being meaningless as his fist repeatedly cracked and denied the Nothing, forcing it to break back into something as his Absolute Strength was unmatched…_

"…want us to share more memories than just the mass of craziness and impossibly dangerous situations we have lived so far before anything forces us to drift apart. More 'normal' things to treasure, besides just, you know, having been virtual Superheroes and…"

Two fingers flickering against his forehead suddenly interrupted the gamer, making him squeak and take a step forward, the inhuman reflexes that normally would have left him easily dodge such a thing having been 'inactive' because he felt totally safe with the two girls now scowling at him.

"Honestly, Sensei…could you be any more of an idiot?" sighed Asuna while shaking his head.

"I guess no matter how much he matures, Onii-chan will always be Onii-chan." added Suguha while sharing an understanding look with the other girl.

"He-hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"

"Kirito-kun, do you really think that just because our memories are of fighting through a floating castle, slaying monsters, stopping psychopaths and saving the world it means we will value them any less when we grow up? That's not like you!" scolded him the vice commander of the UHA while crossing her arms. "So, yeah, we're not normal, at all! What about it? We will just grow up into weird adults together!"

"Yeah, Asuna is right, Kazuto-oniichan!" energetically agreed the young kendoka while giving him a massive grin and a raised fist in that way he sometimes used. "Do you need to be reminded of who was the first of us who started going around in a bicycle beating up criminals? I may be a 'weird' girl, but I don't care growing up into an equally weird woman because I know I will have you and the rest with me!"

"Asuna…Sugu…" whispered Kazuto while closing his eyes, feeling happy tears welling in them even as his inner doubts about embracing whatever was left of his 'normalcy' warred against simply accepting what they were saying, wishing for it with all his heart. "…hear…I have to tell you something. The truth is, since I came back from SAO, I can…"

"Excuse me, do you know what time it is?" an unknown voice asked from behind the trio, making them blink and saw how a man of unkempt appearance and bags under his eyes walked towards them with a disarming smile. "I'm a bit lost and I forgot my phone back home…"

"Oh yeah, it's almost 9 o'clock." smiled back Asuna while checking on her phone. "Also, you should probably…"

And that was as far as she went before both Suguha and Kazuto _moved_ , the Kirigaya siblings intercepting the man's sudden movement with a twin kick and sending him painfully on his back with a scream, eyes narrowed as the chestnut-haired girl's eyes widened.

"GUAH!"

"What the…?!"

"That guy followed us from the café!" accused the young kendoka while moving quickly around her friend, taking the umbrella out of her hands and pointing the scarily sharp tip towards the fallen man's chest, her eyes never letting any of his limbs out of her sight. "I saw him as we walked past an alley!"

"And I can still remember that annoying voice despite the lack of the stupid bag-mask." growled the gamer while standing beside his fellow vigilante, his gaze fixed upon the failed-attacker's face. "Guess you weren't expecting things to not go your way, uh, Kanamoto Atsuchi…or should I say Johnny Black?"

"Kuh…damn you, Kirito…" snarled the former Laughing Coffin member while Asuna gasped at the familiar name, finally stepping up beside the other 2 to glare hatefully at him. "How did you know?!"

"…seriously? Did you think I would have forgotten how you were still on the run after the whole Death Gun mess months ago?" questioned Kazuto with total disbelief. "I could have died, it was online for the whole world to see, it was anything anyone would talk about for weeks and I was directly involved in the arrest of both Shinkawa brothers. Why would I _not_ remember you were still out there and without being caught?"

"Underestimating Sensei just because we're in the real world and not knowing just how skillful Sugu-chan is has been your last mistake, Black." sentenced Asuna while taking out her phone and dialing the number for emergency services. "You're going to spend the rest of your life paying for your crimes, second-rate villain."

For a moment, the man's face reflected only anger and frustration…before it split into an insane grin as he started to laugh, in a very disturbing way that triggered all the alarms inside the teenagers' heads.

"…AHAHAHAHAH…! Oh…how rich…you know, I was a bit pissed off before, but now…I don't regret it." Atsuchi's face reflected the darkest amusement as he said the next words. "Being just the bait, that is."

"…what?" Suguha's voice came out hoarse, every single instinct she had developed since becoming the Bicycle Girl screaming at her at full force.

Danger. _Danger!_ **DANGER!**

Beside the Kirigaya Household, a certain bicycle started to shake in place, its bell ringing crazily.

"You see, there is barely anything left of his mind in there, it seems, despite still being 'him'. But the Boss, man, he's such a scary son of a bitch…just a few well-placed words and he was ready to do his bidding, I still don't know how he does it. Then again…" the demented man's eyes moved over the trio, at something above and behind them. "Mentioning your name and promising to let him deal with you first also helped, Kirito. For you see…"

Three heads whirled around as one, even as a figure on a dirty and ragged cloak slammed on the street behind them, as if jumping down from a high place, with enough force to _crack_ the pavement under it.

Time seemed to slow down as the hooded head was raised, 2 pools of liquid red light staring into the three shocked teens from within the darkness of its shadow, nothing but a hunger for destruction within them. The deformed, massive and sharp bone-like thing he had coming from under the hood instead of his right arm piercing through the street like a knife through butter.

"…he really wants to kill you."

 **"Ki…ri…to!"** snarled the abomination while his full attention zeroed on the black-haired boy.

A single word came from the boy's mouth in answer.

"Xaxa?"

 **"DIE!"**

With an inhuman roar, the abomination catapulted itself forward, and this time everything _truly_ seemed to slow down to a crawl as Kazuto's own inhuman perception kicked in, letting him see how Suguha had moved and was throwing herself to tackle Asuna out of the way, how Atsuchi was rolling to the side now that no deadly-sharp umbrella was pointed at his heart, now the tip of the monstrous needle-like bone was heading towards his chest with brutal speed.

 _"I can't fully dodge it!"_ realized the gamer as he twisted his body out of the way as fast as his mundane flesh and bone allowed him to do so.

His virtual-inherited senses were enough to stop him from being skewered, but his lithe body (Training and vigilante activities aside), wasn't enough to prevent the angry line of red from showing up across his left arm as it made contact with the side of the sharp appendage coming from whatever in which Shinkawa Shouichi had become.

Pain flared through the boy's mind as time returned to normal speed in his eyes, but he pushed it down in favor of lashing out with his fist towards the creature's side, the thing he could only call 'Xaxa', for simplicity's sake, shooting past him and crashing through the street like a ragdoll thanks to a combination of his unexpected punch and the monster's own momentum, not hitting the rolling Atsuchi by miracle.

The strain of the action, however, made him unable to contain a scream of agony.

"AGH!"

"KI-KIRITO-KUN!"

"ONII-CHAN!"

"I-I'm okay, it's just scratch!" shouted the gamer while trying to ignore the blood staining his her destroyed left sleeve, knowing that it actually looked worse than it was, though it still hurt like hell. "Go and call for help, it only wants me! RUN!"

"Like hell!" was Suguha's expected answer as Xaxa flipped over himself in an inhuman movement, the girl standing up from where she and Asuna had fallen after her tackle and rushing forward with the umbrella moving in a fast swing. "We're not abandoning…!"

With a snarl, the red-eyed abomination slashed forward, cutting through the young kendoka's 'weapon' as if it was made of paper, not doing the same to her face by an inch.

Spinning around, the humanoid monster was about to continue his attack upon the shocked vigilante when a rock crashed on the side of his face, making his eyes shoot towards the angry-looking form of Kirigaya Kazuto.

"Where are you looking at, Xaxa?! It's me who you want, right, Death Loser?!" taunted the black-haired boy before turning around and running as fast as his legs allowed him to, straight towards the fence of the closest house.

 **"KIRITOOOO!"** was the screaming and expected reward he had been hoping for, Xaxa completely forgetting about Suguha's existence as he threw his body after him. **"You…will…DIEEE!"**

"Not interested, thank you!" shouted the gamer as he vaulted over the fence, which he heard being pierced and broken behind him seconds later, together with animalistic snarls of anger.

Outrunning the abomination was out of the question (Not to mention between suicidal and stupid), but if he could keep moving through obstacles to slow it down, he would be able to lead it away from the girls until someone noticed there was a roaring not-so-human thing tearing through the neighborhood.

As he jumped over a car's hood with the skill gained from months being 'The Caped Sidekick', which Xaxa then proceeded to brutally pierce through with his 'estoc'-arm, he realized it probably wouldn't take too long before that happened, if the several lights turning on inside the house whose backyard he was now running over (More than likely in response to the horrible sound of metal and glass being torn apart) were anything to go by.

Letting those distracting thoughts slip to the back of his mind, Kazuto grabbed what looked like a kid's 'car' and, while inwardly apologizing to the owner of the toy, threw it behind him in a mighty spin, barely letting himself feel elation at seeing the thing slam against the red-eyed abomination, and how it snarled while stumbling back, before once again resuming his escape, arriving at the opposite fence and vaulting over it once again.

Gasping for breath, the gamer once again activated his Saitama-level perception as he took a step forward, feeling his arms and legs burning from the strain he had just put them through, not to mention a need to throw up most likely born from over-using his inhuman reaction time (Something he had never been forced to do before, as even during his vigilante activities he at most had to activate them once a night). But the boy knew he couldn't stop now. Never mind that whatever in which Xaxa had turned into was still hot on his heels, he needed to buy time and make sure that Suguha and Asuna were sa…

All of his instincts screamed danger again, way later than usual because of how tired he was. Reacting by instinct, he lashed out to the side with a fierce punch, much faster than someone would have expected from someone with his looks, probably.

With the world slowly returning to normal time around him, he saw with almost satisfaction how his fist connected with Kanamoto Atsuchi's face…and how the thing he had been 'wielding' on his right hand was slammed against the back of that same fist.

His entire world seemed to shut down as he recognized the needleless syringe of succinylcholine and saw how the deadly dosage of the muscular relaxant was injected into his body through sheer pressure.

The one once known as Johnny Black fell on his back with a bleeding nose and a painful crash, but never once did the psychotic smile on his face vanish even as Kazuto took several steps backward, wide-eyed.

"Payback is a bitch, isn't it?"

"Buah…!" was the boy's answer as he felt his arm going numb in seconds and then his legs starting to fail him, the world around him seeming to tremble in his eyes.

Then Xaxa's monstrous form crashed on the street right in front of him, just a couple of meters from where Atsuchi had fallen, his red eyes filled with nothing but hate…

 **"KIRI-!"**

…and was promptly silenced when a car sped down the street and crashed into him, sending the inhuman monster flying with his limbs bend the wrong way towards his fellow former LC member, the painful crash sending both of them rolling away down the street.

Inside the car, a pale Yuuki Asuna let go of the wheel, quickly unfastening her seatbelt and exiting the vehicle, Suguha doing the same from the backseat as they ran towards the fallen boy leaning against the fence.

On the shotgun seat, the shaking and pale owner of the car, a random woman that had been driving down the other street when she saw the two girls on the street looking as if they had been assaulted and tried to 'help', before they all but hijacked her car shouting it was 'a matter of life and death', was still trying to process what had happened, her eyes darting from the 3 teens to the damaged house's backyard (From where some shouts were coming now) and to _thing_ with the bone-needle arm sprawled unmoving over the other man.

"Sensei, we're here!" shouted the chestnut-haired girl with a relieved smile, tears in her eyes as she and the young kendoka stopped near the slumped boy. "Thank God you are…uh?"

"O…Onii-chan…?" muttered the teenage vigilante with confusion at his lack of response, finally noticing his weak breath as he seemed to struggle just to stay lying against the fence, his hand weakly moving towards something that was on the ground just beside them.

Two pairs of eyes moved towards the empty and expensive-looking pressure syringe.

"Death…Gun…" rasped Kazuto before his voice fully failed him, his eyelids suddenly feeling horribly heavy.

Dawning horror came over the girls' faces at the horrible realization, Suguha bolting to her feet in fear and starting to scream while she dialed madly for an ambulance on her phone.

"HELP! SOMEONE! MY BROTHER IS HURT, WE NEED A ME…!"

The young kendoka was interrupted by the sight of unnatural movement and the scream coming from the woman of the car, her gaze barely seeing the somehow still alive and moving, if clearly badly injured, form of 'Xaxa' throwing Kanamoto Atsuchi over his shoulder and darting away with clearly damaged limbs and blood all over, vanishing into the night.

She only needed one second for her shock to vanish as the voice coming from her phone asked what her emergency was, though, ignoring the horrors running away in favor of preventing the greatest tragedy she could possibly imagine.

"KIRITO-KUN, HANG IN THERE!" shouted Asuna with despair while shaking the boy she loved, tears falling endlessly down her face as she heard people close by asking what was happening and some even peeking over the fence in shock. "You will get through this, you hear me?! You always do, no matter what happens! You're invincible, the strongest…something like this…something like this can't…can't…!"

"An ambulance is coming!" cried Suguha while rushing to them and kneeling beside her adopted brother, her eyes seeming about to burst from the fear and tears. "Did you hear, Onii-chan?! Just hang in there a bit more!"

"…suna…ugu…" weakly mumbled Kazuto while looking at them again, the movement feeling harder than anything he had ever done, even breathing now seeming like the hardest of tasks as he felt his body starting to fail him for good. "…love you…"

Then, the black-haired boy shook as his body convulsed, twin screams for his name echoing into the night.

On different places, several girls and four boys froze, suddenly feeling something dark and heavy hitting their hearts.

Within Alfheim Online, in a homely-looking log house of New Aincrad's 22nd Floor, two AIs and a girl-turned-data stopped their conversation as their bodies went rigid, a horrible sensation making them shake.

"What…?"

"Tha-that…?"

"…Papa?"

…everything felt dark and heavy…pain was everywhere, but also seemed to be vanishing, and a part of his fragmented consciousness told him that was not a good thing…

"…isn't breathing…!"

"…heart stopped…need to…!"

"Clear!"

A shocking sensation shaking him…but nothing else, the darkness seeming to swallow him, like tendrils of Oblivion…

…and from the depths of that [Nothingness], he could almost swear Something beyond all understanding stared at him in mocking contempt.

 **[Your Fate will be way worse than belonging to me, usurper]**

Another shock, more painful than anything he had ever felt, and the darkness went away, feeling coming back to him, but also hurting much more, his…thoughts…cracking…apart…

Darkness. Silence.

Must…remember…something…

"…shouldn't have done this, Kikuo…"

"…expected me to…? His brain…damaged…"

"But…someone discovers…brought him here…"

"…take that risk…only the Soul Trans…can save him…"

"…understood…will connect…send him into…Underworld…"

"Don't worry…gaya-kun. You will…"

Then, unmerciful unconsciousness finally took him away, and Kirigaya Kazuto knew no more.

* * *

 _The world was screaming._

 _The land shook and trembled as chaos and conflict engulfed all corners._

 _She saw the heavens split as winged figures and dragon riders clashed._

 _From dark and frozen depths, a figure of ice and bone rose, seeking revenge, seeking that which he had lost…_

 _Running away from their Destiny, two fugitives with horrible powers they hadn't asked for tried to reach out to those before them…_

 _Standing against the oppression, a rider with a mask faced off against the armored servants of a Fake Goddess…_

 _Like an unstoppable wall, a figure clad in golden armor that knew only of her duty flashed forward at speeds mankind couldn't comprehend…_

 _From the depths of the earth, the lonely Librarian watched the chaos, a small creature with 8 eyes and limbs at her side…_

 _From atop the White Tower, the one that ruled the world from the shadows smiled darkly at the chaos, Her time finally at hand…_

 _Coming from under the Black Tree, a lost and confused figure stared at it all, wishing for nothing but to go back home…_

 _And then, his image distorted and, walking and crushing everything she had seen before with ease, a might figure now advanced, a caped shadow of black and white with eyes that knew nothing but destruction, rearing back his fist even as the Chains kept tightening their hold over Everything._

 _With a hopeless roar, he let his fist fly forward, and…!_

And with a small scream escaping from her mouth, Selka Zuberg woke up, cold sweat covering the 12 and a half years old girl as she clutched her chest, trying to regain her breath as her unfocused eyes took on the dark room she was in.

Outside, the pale light of Lunaria over the night sky was barely enough for her to properly see the room of Rulid's church where she slept, the same place she had for a bit over 2 years since her Sacred Task as 'Sacred Arts Student' has been assigned to her.

Pushing down the dark thoughts she sometimes got when she overheard someone from the village comparing her to…her sister, the young girl stood up, idly noticing her nightgown was drenched in sweat as she headed for the small table in the room, over which something lie, wrapped in a small bundle of cloth.

For a second, the barefoot Selka stared at it, as if fighting an inner urge, before turning around and heading for the open window.

Under the cloth covering it, the crystal ball remained waiting, even as the apprentice kneeled before the window and adopted a praying position.

"Oh, great Lunaria…why do you keep sending these visions to me? I don't want to see them…I barely understand them…and, if anyone knew I have a Blessing…" shaking in place at the thought, the young girl stared towards the moon with pleading eyes. "And yet, I can feel it. Our world is sinking into chaos more and more with every year. Stacia's creation is threatened, but…no one seems to care. Nor Sister Azariya, nor the adults…not even father…so please, tell me…what am I meant to do? What…what role am I supposed to play in this chaotic times ahead?"

Selka hadn't really been expecting any answer…which was why the sudden, if weak, flash of 'light' from beyond the window caught her off guard, the young tea-haired girl shooting to her feet and staring with wide eyes towards the horizon.

Just under the immense shadow of the Black Tree, which seemed darker than the Night Sky itself, a pale light finished vanishing. The Sacred Arts Apprentice stared in wonder.

Under the tall form of the Gigas Cedar, resting unconscious against one of its massive roots, the unconscious form of a black-haired boy could now be seen.

For an instant, the world seemed to 'glitch' and show him wearing something black and white, a cape and a jumpsuit, an unnatural aura around him…

And then the **_Chains_** that extended into Infinity tightened their hold around him, letting the Will of the World assert itself once again and leaving him dressed in a plain black shirt and equally plain white pants.

On Its Throne Above Everything, [FATE] shifted. The Final Countdown had started. The last part of the 'game' had begun.

At the edge of Reality, [DESTINY] felt the same as his gaze shifted from the Chains that kept tightening around the Universe before him, the minor Absolute One letting his focus fall on the makeshift 'chessboard' before him once again, seeing the flickering central piece moving away from the pieces he loved and supported, like they did for him, and sinking into the inferior board, surrounded by enemies and strangers on all sides.

Slowly, though, the first of the new pieces that would stand by him moved forward, like a snail trying to reach the unreachable sun.

With closed 'eyes', [DESTINY] softly spoke with a voice that echoed in infinite tones and infinite languages, even as he sent his best wishes to those existing below, on his sibling's mad game.

"[Seer Pawn to Black-White King…]"

* * *

 **…**

 **…STARTING…**

 **…OPENING REPORT LOG.**

 **Warning Report #125557**

 **Unexpected Login into the Underworld has been detected! The 'Standard Account' denominated as 'Main Tester 05' has been re-activated. This is an unauthorized and non-programmed entry with no previous warning or Log having been made into the systems, which suggests some sort of emergency or severe negative status with the Tester that has caused him to be Logged into Underworld…** _01101110 01101111_ **…for unknown reasons.**

 **Creating Mid-Priority Report to notify of this anomaly…complete. Proceeding to list the ongoing High-Priority events that must be addressed.**

 **-The 'Rebel Faction' is still at large. Rumors about them and their 'rider' have increased unrest among the subdued and Eye-Sealed population by 12% in the last months.**

 **-The two fugitives from the Testing Site 004 continue evading capture. It's been over a week and there is still no progress. One of them has been confirmed to be at least a Demon-Level threat. The other remains unknown. Consider assigning available Integrity Knights for capture.**

 **-East Gate continues losing 'Life' at the expected rate. Estimated time before the 'Final Testing Phase' starts being 2 years, 3 days, 26 minutes, 31 seconds…** _01101001 01110100 00100000 01101000 01110101 01110010 01110100 01110011 00001101 00001010_ **…and counting.**

 **Detailed Evaluation of last statement.**

 **Current chances of Human World's Victory over Dark Territory, factoring variables and unknowns of Blessings/Curses on both sides, without Administrator's intervention: 58.98%**

 **Chances of mutual annihilation: 49.53%**

 **Chances of Victory with Administrator's intervention…** _01110011 01110100 01101111 01110000 00100000 01101001 01110100_ **…: 100%**

 **Current rate of Fluctlights affected by the Blessing/Curse Cycle: 73.21% and rising.**

 **END OF REPORT LOG.**

 **SENDING TO ADMINISTRATOR…ADMINISTRATOR UNAVAILABLE.**

 **SENDING TO CHIEF ELDER.**

…

…

…y…o…u…a…r…e…h…e…r…e…

* * *

 **Hey…do you remember those times, filled with happiness and confusion, determination and madness? Remember how much you wished they could last?**

 **Remember them well, for soon, they will be nothing but that. Long-lost memories, as the Final Judgment starts.**

 **For the Chains of Fate are here…**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Prologues, done! Yay!

Well, there you have it. With this, the 'story proper' can finally start. Lots of small details were thrown here and there during this last prologue that will be quite relevant ahead, btw, so hope you had your eyes open while reading it.

What did you think about the 'dumbed down' version of the Soul Translator and quantum mechanics? Hope it wasn't too boring, but I tried to make it informative-enough that even those I know are still reading this without having read Alicization could get it while also seeming like what OPG!Kazuto, which is radically different from the Canon one at this point, would do. This is also shown through the chapter as his worries/interests aren't like those of his canon self at this point at all, his interest in the future of VR-tech isn't as deep and his worries are about the lack of 'normality' in his life and how this may affect his future with everyone, caused as a consequence of his fight against Equinox letting him realize the true extent of what 'Kirito' can do. If it wasn't obvious, this is going to play a big part in the story ahead…oh, and Asuna knows how to 'drive' a car even if she doesn't have a license. That's also totally gonna be very plot-relevant later XP

On a sidenote, by a quite positive decision, this story will have Omakes too, starting from next chapter onwards (Also the 'next episode previews' will come back, and I have decided on using a new more 'fitting' format than the OPM-one used in the prequel). The series for them is also already decided, so don't bother sending suggestions, sorry XP

And well, that's all I had to say for now! Are you all ready to follow Kirito down the rabbit hole? Things are about to get crazier in both worlds, and the greatest challenge our heroes are going to face may not be just surviving, but also facing their own darkest doubts…also, have a small treat! Because of how long the Alicization Arc is in itself, I have decided to split it into arcs of my own making. I will be covering the main storyline/plot of vols from 9 to 14, but just the overall big events and with massive changes that will give him a hopefully well-received original spin, though information/characters and reveals that were made from vols 15 to 18 will also be used, if not its plot (Mainly because old Gabriel is still having an existential crisis about Sinon beheading him, but being honest, those of you who have read the novels, did any of you think he would be able to strangle _this_ Sinon XD?). So, without further ado, here are the 'arcs' this story will be split into (Some longer than others), not counting the real world-Interludes:

1- The World Down the Rabbit Hole

2- Of Monsters and Heroes

3- Knights of Despair

4- The Will of Five

5- The Tower of God

6- [FATE]'s Judgement

Now then, this is goodbye for now, everyone :P Going to rest a bit, get used to my classes again, try and catch up a bit with my videogames/series and then start working on chapter 1. Hopefully it won't take as long as these epilogues OwO (Also, SAO Ordinal Scale is already out in DVD/BR, so go and watch it if you haven't!)

Until next time, this is Saint, signing off!


	3. Chapter 1: A Stranger in Wonderland

Hello once again, everyone, and welcome to another chapter of one of the strangest SAO crossovers XD!

First of all, I would like to apologize, this chapter had no right to have taken this long to make, especially as you may notice that is a few thousand words smaller than the prologues were. I want to blame an exam I had for that, but the truth is that I spent like 2 weeks without writing because I was too eager to catch up with my copy of Persona 5 after being unable to play for like a month because of work, so I let myself go. I want to promise it won't happen again, but with it just getting better and with so many great games coming out…well, I can at least promise you that the story isn't getting abandoned :P

That said, I was surprised seeing that Prologue Two had a way smaller reception that the first one, both in views and reviews, when I figured it would be the opposite. Maybe it was because of the long time between chapters or something else, but now I fear this one may get a similar result as we're starting 'slow and calmly' like Canon Alicization XP

Oh yeah, and before I forget, the story's TvTropes' page has been re-ordered to accommodate this sequel too, so as always, anyone and everyone willing to help fill it out can do so (Link is on my profile on the prequel's part). After all, I still suck as a Troper myself OwO

And with all of that said, I will finally shup up and leave you all with the chapter. Have fun!

 **PS:** I have a new Beta now! Everyone, give your thanks to pikatwins234 for Betaing this chapter :)!

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Arc I: The World Down the Rabbit Hole**

 _"When I was a little boy, I wanted to be a Hero. Not a salaryman…but a Hero who could send rotten villains like you flying with One Punch!"_ – Saitama, the Average Guy.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: A Stranger in (Not) Wonderland**

 **9th Month of the Human Empire Calendar, 378. Rulid's Village Area, Under the Gigas Cedar…**

Soft. That's how the earth under him felt.

Hard. Was how he perceived the wooden thing against which his head was.

Warm. Such was the feeling that the sun shining down on his face gave.

The moment his mind became fully aware of those sensations, the boy's eyes weakly fluttered open, taking on the sight of the sun softly rising on the horizon and the massive black 'thing' against which he was resting. With a tired grumble, he closed his eyes and shifted to the side, trying to protect his face from the light.

Then, his brain finished rebooting and he shot to his feet, the gamer's eyes snapping open as he let out a scream of horror and grabbed the back of his hand, gasping for breath as if he had been drowning.

It took several seconds before the black-haired boy realized he, in fact, wasn't dying, and then a couple more of shocked ones looking around him before he finally spoke.

"What…the hell…? Where am I? What…what happened? I…"

Grunting, the gamer grabbed his head, concentrating in remembering what had led him to be…wherever he was.

He remembered Sugu and Asuna walking with him after the group's 'party' in the Dicey Café.

He remembered opening up to them, sharing his worries.

…he remembered Kanamoto Atsuchi. Johnny Black. His pathetic attempt to attack them. And then…

The thing. The monster. **Xaxa**.

He had tried to drive it off, buy the girls time to escape while the abomination followed him, and…and…

Blank. His memories suddenly cut off there, as if someone had let a dark curtain fall over them. Any attempts to recall anything beyond that point only gave him unconnected flashes and sounds, voices he couldn't recognize saying things he couldn't make sense of…

Once again, the boy's train of thought was stopped when he rested against 'the black thing' behind him, making him blink and fully turn around, as if finally acknowledging its presence.

"That's…one big ass tree." Kirito commented dryly, staring at the biggest tree had ever seen (He really didn't count ALO's Yggdrasil because that thing _barely_ looked like a tree at all). Its color was that of a black darker than the night sky, from its massive roots to its far-away leaves. "Size of a building, thicker than a small car…yeah, pretty sure there is nothing like this in Japan. Not in the world for that matter, at least not with this color, which means…"

Letting out a sigh half of relief and half of resignation, the gamer took on the forest clearing around him with critical eyes.

Somehow, he had ended up inside a virtual world after falling unconscious, however that had happened. Not the most reassuring thought, but not the worst either, compared to having actually been kidnapped and taken to a forest somewhere he didn't know. Shaking his head at the dark thoughts and deciding he would get to the bottom of things after Logging Out, the boy raised his hand in the usual motion to bring forth his menu, universal in all current VRMMOs…

And nothing happened.

Startled, the gamer shook his head and tried again.

Once again, nothing happened.

A strange sense of dread starting to creep up his back, Kirito repeated the familiar motion several times, faster every time, with an almost desperate urgency. Still, no matter how many times he tried, no familiar window opened before his eyes.

Even worse, as he kept doing so, countless sensations that he never associated with the virtual world started to make themselves present: The slight pain of repeating the movement so many times and so fast, the worried/tired sweat covering his forehead from the sun bearing down on him, the soft and slightly dry morning breeze…

"…this…isn't a virtual world…?" muttered the shocked boy while putting a hand on his forehead, feeling the sweat on his skin, something he knew would have been impossible in any normal VR world…except…"Wait…that would certainly be the only 'logical' explanation, but…why would I be inside the Soul Translator? And how did I even get here?!"

Certainly, if he had been inside a world generated by the last generation FullDive machine he had helped testing, everything he was feeling would be more than possible, together with the extreme real-like quality the world around him seemed to have, but that only raised further questions.

If something had truly happened to him after running from Xaxa that made him lose consciousness, shouldn't he have been brought to a hospital? How the hell had he ended up within an STL, then? It made no sense, but then again, it made _more_ sense than having somehow wound up in a different world like a Light Novel protagonist. After all, as far as he knew, there was no need of a menu within the worlds created through the Soul Translator, because he was in direct contact with Rath's staff at all ti…

"Wait…can anyone hear me?" proved Kirito while looking to the sky with a hopeful tone, feeling his worry rise when no one answered unlike back in his time as a tester. "Kikuoka?! Hello?! Is someone up there hearing me?!"

"Ah!"

Instincts that had forcefully grown by 'fighting' countless battles against terrible creatures that he could end with one punch, and also the odd 'fight' against someone actually strong/resilient enough to exchange normal blows with him, were triggered in that moment, making the black-haired boy spin around and raise his arms in a threatening stance.

…at least that's what he intended, but he only almost managed to trip over his own feet and fall down, just barely keeping his balance even as his eyes widened with shock at the realization of an important thing.

He wasn't wearing his trademark jumpsuit and cape, nor could he feel the absolute power his virtual body always carried. A part of his mind acknowledged that, even back then, during the testing of the STL, he hadn't appeared within the fake world with his One Punch-Gamer avatar either, but he had barely paid any mind to that, given that there was truly no way for it to have 'come along' with him to the servers of Rath in Roppongi, that weren't directly connected to the network for security reasons, and with a machine that had no connection to his ALO account.

Even so, to fully realize that he was truly within an unknown virtual world, trapped for all intents and purposes, _without_ his 'virtual powers'…

"Who's there?!" demanded the boy while still trying to sound firm and push down the unnatural fear the last line of thought had caused on him, steeling himself as he reached for his 'Inner Saitama' and thankfully found he still had the ability to attain that 'utter detachedness' with only a bit of effort. "Come out already, I know you're behind those trees!"

"…ple-please, don't hurt me…" muttered the scared voice that the gamer now identified as female, not to mention quite young, even as a tea-haired girl with eyes of similar color, wearing something he could vaguely relate with a nun outfit, stepped out of the woods, hands raised and worry evident in her step. "I-I just…uhm…you shouldn't be here, stranger! Thi-this place is cursed, you know?!"

"Wha-what? Cursed…?" questioned Kirito while trying to shake off the surreal feeling the girl of clearly foreign features talking in perfect native Japanese caused him, wariness giving way to confusion as he lowered his arms. "You mean this place…? Where am I?"

"Uhm…yes? Su-surely you must know about the Gigas Cedar if you come from Zakkaria?" wondered the unknown girl while lowering her arms, her fear slowly turning into a mix of curiosity and confusion. "You…you DO come from there, right? I mean, the-there is no way you could have come from…anywhere further…"

"I…I don't know any place by the name of Zakkaria. I don't even know where am I or…how I got here." sincerely answered the black-haired boy while biting his lips, looking from the now clearly shocked girl to the so-called 'Gigas Cedar'.

Slowly, his eyes were attracted to a 'mark' on its side, what seemed like a long if not very deep scar in the sturdy-looking black wood of its base, whatever had caused the 'wound' that was almost 'healed' nowhere to be seen…

"Yo-you mean…you can't remember anything?" asked the now quite concerned girl as she walked towards him, looking p towards the gamer with a worried look, earlier fears forgotten. "At all?"

"No…I do remember things, only not how I got here…or where this place exactly is." confessed Kirito while wondering who exactly the girl was. "I could use your help with that, uhm…?"

"Oh! Sorry about that…I'm Selka Zuberg, and you're in the area near Rulid Village, stranger." politely explained the now identified Selka with an awkward smile.

Neither the place, nor the girl's name rang a bell at all, which only added to his confusion at her clearly native use of his language.

She was clearly no 'player', but an NPC shouldn't have the level of free interaction and 'realism' she seemed to have either. Even exceptions like the Gods from ALO didn't have quite the same 'human' vibe she seemed to possess…

"Hi there, Selka…you may call me Kirito." finally introduced himself the boy while extending a hand towards the girl, who looked at it in surprise before gingerly shaking it.

"Kirito, uh…?" mused Selka while tilting her head to the side, looking him up and down with a somewhat confused gaze. "Huh…weird…"

"Is it my clothes?" questioned the gamer while looking down at his plain getup, the 'weirdness' of not wearing his usual 'costume' in what he was still half-unsure to be a virtual world. "Because honestly, I have no idea how I ended up wearing these either…"

"N-no, i-it wasn't that!" quickly assured the now blushing girl while letting go of his hands to wave her own before her. "Ju-just that I thought your name sounded familiar for some rea…wait, you don't even remember how you ended up in those clothes?"

"I was wearing something completely different before fainting, last I remember." honestly continued the gamer while frowning internally.

The girl before him was 'human', there was no doubt about it in his mind now. Even Yui and Strea, for all he loved them and recognized them as people, had an 'aura' one could detect just by speaking to them for a few minutes that made it very clear they had been 'created' instead of 'born'.

Selka Zuberg, on the other hand, felt as normal as any 12 and something years old girl you would find in a park or out in the street with her parents.

Which only added to his confusion even more. She was clearly not a 'player' and found _him_ to be the strange one…what did that mean?

"…ito-san? Kirito-san, are you okay?"

"A-ah, yea-yeah, sorry about that, I spaced out for a bit." apologized Kirito while quickly shaking his head. "What were you saying?"

"That you should come back with me to Rulid. If you're truly lost and can't remember how you ended up here, I'm sure you can stay in the church at least until you have figured things out, I'm an apprentice there and Sister Azariya won't mind." as she said those words, the girl that he was starting to deduce was some kind of nun shifted in place and sent a clearly nervous look to the massive tree, making him notice how her legs were trembling slightly. "S-so, would you want to follow me to…?"

The sudden feeling of a hand resting on her scalp froze the Sacred Arts Apprentice on the spot before the strangely tender and kind sensation of someone patting her head rushed through her.

"Sorry about that, I should have realized sooner you didn't want to be here." apologized Kirito while awkwardly head-patting the paralyzed young girl, wondering if he was doing the right thing, as he hadn't had to deal with trying to comfort a 'normal' little girl since he and Sugu were kids.

The closest examples he had experienced after that were Silica (And the self-proclaimed kunoichi was already more than capable and mature enough to not fall into a panic before a threat) and Yui (His AI-daughter was…self-explanatory).

Unlike them, though, Selka, a seemingly a very normal young girl, was terrified of whatever the place they were in meant or held for the people she lived with, which was why he was hoping his current actions were more than enough to calm her down. After all, thinking of other ways to do so on the spot while he was still trying to not freak out at his current situation would be quite hard…

"Ah…it's not a problem…" muttered the young apprentice with slightly wide eyes and a small blush on her cheeks, wondering why the sensation felt so strangely _familiar_ to her, as if this wasn't the first time the complete stranger before her patted her head in such a tender way.

"It is if you say this place is cursed." replied Kirito while finally stopping his patting upon seeing how she was no longer scared, the girl quickly shaking her head after he did so, as if trying to dispel some strange thought from her mind. "Shall we get going, then?"

"Ye-yeah, let's go…" mumbled Selka while turning around and heading back into the forest, towards the North.

Just as he was about to exit the clearly defined and roughly circular clearing surrounding the so-called Gigas Cedar after the tea-haired girl, the black-haired boy sent a last glance towards the sinisterly empty and lonely 'cursed' area.

For an instant, the breeze seemed to whisper something distant into his ears, making him wonder why a sudden feeling of nostalgia was hitting his soul…

Then, the moment was over and he was just once again staring at the empty and desolate clearing of the black tree, the gamer quickly hurrying after the apprentice so as to not lose sight of her.

All the while, the shadow of the Gigas Cedar seemed to make the air grow colder…

* * *

Selka Zuberg was trying to do her best to not show her nervousness as she guided the mysterious boy towards Rulid around 10 minutes later, her mind going at a hundred Mels per hour.

An unknown person lying at the feet of the cursed tree, without any memory of how he got there, having come from who knows where. Most people would have been troubled or worried by such a thing and most girls her age would have been terrified at the prospect.

She, however, _wasn't_ like most girls her age. In fact, she was pretty sure (And grateful to the Goddesses), that no young girl in all of the Human World would have to ever feel the burden she had carried since she had memory.

That's why the presence of the stranger, 'Kirito', behind her filled her with only one feeling: Wonder.

Was this truly the shape of the answer she had prayed for to the Goddess of Dreams? What would show her the purpose of her visions in the great plan of Life itse…?

"Is that Rulid village?"

"Eeep!" squeaked the Sacred Arts Apprentice at the unexpected question, quickly turning her gaze to where her strange companion was pointing, nodding with a relieved smile at the slightly distant view of Rulid's buildings beyond the crop fields, perfectly visible now that they had exited the forest. "Ye-yes, it is, we will be there in no time at all…s-so, Kirito-san?"

"Yes?"

"You said you couldn't remember how you got here, but…what can you remember exactly? Where are you from?" questioned Selka with an honestly curious tone. "Who are you?"

Closing his eyes, the black-haired boy seemed to ponder the question for a moment, as if it had a deeper weight to him than just mere spoken words. When his black orbs opened again, the young girl could have almost sworn she saw a flickering flame in them for a brief instant.

"I come from very far away and I am…just a gamer who plays as a Hero for fun."

"A ga…what?"

"…sorry, it doesn't really matter." sighed him with a suddenly tired look before quickly smiling brightly towards her, the gesture once again assaulting the apprentice's mind with a haunting sense of familiarity. "Well, let's get to this village of yours right away! I wouldn't want your parents worrying about whether something happened to you or not because of me!"

"O-okay…" softly replied Selka while hurrying her step, Kirito easily matching her pace.

As they got closer to the village itself, the young girl became aware of more than one farmer looking her way with confusion and a bit of wariness, their gazes obviously being aimed towards the impassive-looking boy clad in opposite colors at her side. Given that everyone there knew her almost since she had been a baby and had never seen the newcomer before, they couldn't be blamed for the reaction. Especially when more than one had seen her rushing towards the forest earlier all alone, in the direction of the Gigas Cedar.

Seeing the Village Chief's daughter (…at least the last one remaining) coming out of the forest with an unknown boy would without a doubt put more than one of them on edge.

Thankfully, no one seemed to try and get in their way or tell them to stop as they arrived at Rulid Village proper, Kirito's eyes wandering all around with a mix of curiosity and wonder in his gaze, as if everything he was watching was new for him, yet not entirely alien.

It was both amusing and cute, in her opinion.

She had just started to realize what she was thinking and how she was about to start giggling at the sight before the church's main doors came into view, making the Sacred Arts apprentice snap out of her distracted state as they entered the building's main area.

"Please, wait by the altar for a moment if you don't mind? I need to speak with sister Azariya." informed Selka before hurrying to the nearby side-door, leaving a blinking black-haired boy behind as she headed for her master/caretaker's office. _"Wha-what's wrong with me? Why do I feel as if I…know him…? Is this related to my last vision? Is he truly the key to know what…?"_

"Selka?" suddenly asked a familiar voice, making the young girl realize she had walked and entered to her master's room in auto-pilot, the nun looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Are you okay? You look all red and bothered…"

"Ye-yes, I'm perfectly fine, Sister Azariya, never better!" quickly replied the girl with an unusually high-pitched voice, making the woman blink in confusion. "It's just…uhm…I-I found someone unconscious near the Gigas Cedar and the poor guy seems unable to recall where he came from or how he got here!"

"What?! Selka, what were you doing near the…?! Wait, can't remember anything?" suddenly stopping her scolding, Azariya looked very worried as she stood up. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah! I mean, he's able to remember his name and seems to still have an idea of his life and what he was doing before, but he truly seemed to have no idea how he got here at all." explained the apprentice while motioning back towards the church's chapel, her master starting to follow her. "He does seem to not have any serious problems, though, but given he was totally lost, I thought…"

"It was the right call, Selka, don't worry. Especially if you got him away from that accursed place." kindly praised Azariya with a soft smile, making Selka blush and feel slightly proud. "Now let's see what this mysterious boy of yours needs and hope he isn't too…"

Whatever the nun was going to say after that died in her throat as both she and the young girl under her care froze upon the sight before them.

Namely, that of Kirito nonchalantly sitting on the altar's table, just under the figures of the 3 Goddesses, holding an open book while reading through it with a puzzled look, none other than Rulid's formal copy of the Axiom's Church's Taboo Index itself.

The moment he noticed them, the black-haired boy blinked and happily waved their way, as if he was doing nothing strange or short of the ordinary.

"Hi there, Selka! And you must be…Sister Azariya, right? Sorry, I was just curious about this book, I have never read anything as convolutedly precise in my life…" trailed off the gamer while looking to the side, mumbling something else with narrowed eyes. "There is also the fact that is written in perfect Japanese except for a few titles in English…"

"…oh Goddesses, this poor boy is worse than I could have ever imagined!" half-shouted the village's nun before rushing towards the now blinking Kirito, who realized that he _may_ have done something wrong upon seeing her horrified expression.

And while her teacher rushed off to scold the now awkward and apologetic-looking boy and tell him that he should be showing more respect towards the Index and the Goddesses, Selka Zuberg couldn't help but look at him with an intense look.

There was truly something 'unusual' about him.

Was it really the key to the 'Answer' she had been looking for, though?

Back in her room, on the church's second floor, the crystal ball lying under the cloth seemed to shine softly…

* * *

Looking out of the window of his newly assigned room, Kirito couldn't help but sigh as he watched the moon high in the sky…or Lunaria, if he recalled correctly, like the people here called it.

'The people here' was an odd thing to think about, that's for sure, but it was the only way in which he could apply it. Because as far as he knew, for the humans here, this 'Human World' was reality, and being honest, it was being VERY difficult for him to not think of it was 'the real world' too. It was only his firm knowledge of where he came from and his vague idea of an explanation for what surrounded him that stopped him from easily getting into the flow of the people there.

Because he had no doubt that's what they were: People. Humans. As much as he liked and respected NPCs and/or AIs, especially the likes of Yui and Strea, the inhabitants of that place weren't that. Not even Equinox, with all of her power, could have ever been like the ones currently sleeping at their home in that place called Rulid Village were, because of her origins.

Utterly, simply and humanly _normal_.

These were people that were born, grew old, formed families and then died. He had heard it, he had seen it in the women carrying babies, elderly people sitting to rest, or the children running through the village. None of them had been 'programmed' to follow a pattern but raised as any human would be in reality, only under a very different culture and understanding of the world.

This…was no mere virtual world created for 'testing' or for someone to dive in for a 'game', no. This was a true simulated reality, created to house its own civilization. And the people there…were, without a doubt, 'Fluctlights'.

Kirito _knew_ how the Soul Translator worked, after all. And while only marginally, he understood the true depths and mind-blogging ramifications the tech could be used for. With all of that, and knowing how the machine could 'read', 'project' and 'accelerate' the soul, wasn't it not too crazy to think it could also…copy it, somehow?

Cloned Fluctlights. Authentic 'Virtual Human Souls', given a world, a culture and lives to live, all under Accelerated Time, where their civilization's development could be observed with little effort.

Why? Why had Kikuoka and his company done this? What was the purpose of these people's creation?

As much as he would have liked to not do so, for the sake of everyone he had seen in Rulid during the last hours, every single explanation his mind came up with wasn't nice or positive at all.

Why, then, had Kikuoka dumped him here, in the middle of what was clearly a 'secret experiment' of some sort that he wasn't supposed to know about?

Was it because his memories would be erased when he got out? Or had whatever happened to him in some way forced the man to…?

"Kirito?" came Selka's voice from beyond the door after gently knocking twice on it, making the black-haired boy snap out of his dark musings, quickly chastising himself for being so unaware of his surroundings, something he wasn't used to in 'dangerous' situations because…he usually had his…"Can I come in?"

"Ye-yeah, Selka, it's open." mumbled the black-haired boy while looking down at his clenched fist, once again painfully unaware of the lack of a white glove around it as the young girl entered the room carrying a book with her.

"Hey, I thought I could help you out wi…UAH!" freezing in her tracks once she caught sight of him, Selka quickly took a step back as her face blushed and she pointed at the gamer with surprise. "Wh-why aren't you wearing a shirt?!"

"Uh?" muttered Kirito while raising an eyebrow, looking down at his not really impressive, but effectively bare, torso, his mind drifting over how realistic the reproduction of his real body was (As one would expect from the Soul Translator). "Because it's hot tonight…?"

Certainly, the black-haired boy may not know exactly how the Seasons worked in that strange world, but there was no denying it was noticeably hotter than what he was used to at that time of the year, reason that had led him to take off his black shirt to fight the heat.

"Tha-that's not…it doesn't…do-don't you know it's improper to…?! Ju-just put on your shirt, please!" pleaded the young girl while looking away with a burning face, the gamer barely resisting the urge the chuckle at how innocently cute she looked doing so.

As he complied with her request, though, the black-haired boy wondered if perhaps he should try to keep a lower profile and get used to how things worked in that world. After all, he didn't know how long he would be there (Not too long, hopefully), but if what little he had seen in that 'Taboo Index' book was anything to go by, this place was one where religion was almost the same as absolute law, so accidentally doing something he shouldn't could bring more problems than he could deal with…especially without the power to simply punch said problems away…

"…done."

"Tha-thank you, uhm…are you okay?" questioned Selka with slight worry at once again noticing that strangely distant look on Kirito's gaze, who simply nodded and gave her a small smile as she sighed and walked to sit on the small chair the room had near the bed. "A-anyway, I came here because I thought it would be better for everyone to teach you some of the basics that you clearly seem to have forgotten. After all, we can't have you running around without knowing the names of the world's Gods or even where you are in the Human World…"

"Ah…not that I'm not grateful or anything, but are you sure you should be doing that? It's very late and I'm sure you would rather be sleeping than…"

"It's not a problem, Kirito." smiled the young girl while putting the book she brought on her lap. "As the church's only Sacred Arts Apprentice, it's my duty to help out anyone who needs it!"

"I see…" responded the black-haired boy with an uncertain smile, the idea of such a young girl carrying such a big responsibility surprising him, but not shocking him as much because of how more 'middle age' this world seemed…and also for the fact that he had seen and gone through crazier things in his life. "Thanks a lot, Selka…so, what do you have there?"

"A book about the Axiom Church's history! I figured it would be better to start from the beginning just in case, as we don't know when your memories may come back…ah, not that I'm saying you will never recover them or anything, of course!" quickly clarified the young girl while shaking her hands, looking at the gamer with alarm.

"It's okay, don't worry…and I don't really think I would 'remember' anything anytime soon…"

"What…?"

"It's nothing!" quickly interrupted Kirito before moving as close as he could to Selka's chair and looking towards the open book, mentally chastising himself for that comment. "So, church's history?"

"Ah, ye-yes…uhm, let's start by the 5 Gods, then…" muttered Selka while opening the book on its first chapter, the boy sitting beside her letting out an appreciative hum at the beautiful illustrations filling the left page. "Stacia of Creation, Terraria of the Earth, Solus of the Sun, Lunaria of the Moon and Vector of Darkness…heh, it's so nostalgic, I can still remember the first time my sister read these pages for me…"

"You have a sister?" asked the gamer with honest curiosity, as he had seen no one that fit that description in the whole day, though he quickly regretted his words at seeing the young girl stiffening as her eyes went wide in shock. "Oh…so-sorry, I didn't mean to intrude on…"

"M-my sister…Alice…she's…gone. I…I don't like talking about it…" whispered Selka with a small voice, though what was filling her in that moment was more shock than pain or sadness.

She NEVER talked about her sister, with _anyone_. Not with Sister Azariya, not with her father (Who at this point seemed to act as if Alice had never existed), nor with the villagers she knew had known the kind and talented blonde. Not only because she _knew_ they would try and ignore or change the subject, but also because of how she simply couldn't handle the idea of talking about her lost sister with anyone. There wasn't a single person remaining that she could ever have a talk like that with, as the only one had also been…'lost' the same day as Alice, though in a much more permanent way.

And yet, right now, she had mentioned her so easily and casually to a complete stranger, as if it was no big deal. Without even realizing it. As if…as if she felt more than comfortable enough with him to do so.

Once again, the young apprentice found that strange nagging sensation on the back of her head. As if she should, somehow, _know_ the boy sitting near her, despite having never seen him before in her whole life…

"Uhm, so, the Gods, right?! Man, they sure look amazing!" quickly spoke Kirito as he tried to change the subject away from what was clearly a very uncomfortable one for the young apprentice. "And these 3 created the world, uh? I seriously must be an idiot to forget about all of…"

"Who are you really, Kirito?" Selka asked Kirito, cutting him off with an unusually sharp tone, the black-haired boy's eyes widening upon seeing the sudden intensity in the girl's eyes. "Do you really not remember anything? Or are you just hiding something me and the people on the village shouldn't know about?"

Kirito felt his entire body tense, his mind running faster than ever since he arrived at that seemingly pacific if strange world, wondering if the girl before him had just been pretending the entire time and was actually something much more dangerous and challenging than the innocent nun-in-training he had seen until that moment.

Time 'slowed' to a crawl in his eyes, strangely easier and faster than he was used to, as he analyzed every single thing in the room, the distance between his bed and the door and the chances he had of surviving jumping out of the window. He allowed himself a moment of satisfaction upon realizing his 'Saitama-like Perception' still worked within that world before trying to appear confused as he recoiled before Selka's stare.

"Wha-what? Selka-chan, what are you talking about? I-I'm not really sure why…"

"Do-don't lie to me!" half-shouted/half pleaded the apprentice with slightly teary eyes, surprising the gamer once again. "Why else would you show up just after I had one of my visions and asked Lunaria-sama how to deal with yet another unwanted glimpse of the futu…?! …ah."

"…wait…what?" deadpanned Kirito with wide eyes, staring at the young girl before him as if he was looking at her for the first time. "Did you just say…you had a vision?"

Selka, for her part, didn't know if she should keep being frozen in horrified shock or start screaming in despair.

She had done it AGAIN, in the worst possible way. Once again, she had blurted out something that she absolutely would never tell anyone in all of Rulid to the very same 'stranger' she hadn't known for even a day, this time her greatest secret, the single thing no one could know about, as it would mean she would suffer the same Fate as her long-gone older sister.

That she had a 'power' that did not belong to normal humans, something that didn't belong to the world of mortals.

A 'Divine Blessing'…

"S-SO! The Gods! Here is a short poem we always use to teach the kids about them!" shouted the young apprentice with a slightly hysterical smile and a high-pitched voice, even as she turned the pages to point at a specific part. "Blessed Solus illuminates us all. Noble Lunaria watches over our dreams. Great Terraria keeps us all well-fed. Mother Stacia oversees our lives. And Prankster Vector hunts from the dark. Those are our Gods! Di-did you get it…?!"

"…uhm, sorry, I'm not really thinking about religion right now…can we get back to the part you said you could, you know…see the future?!" quickly interrupted Kirito while standing up, making the young girl squeak in fright as he towered over her.

"I…I…! You…no…ple-please…don't tell anyone…" sobbed Selka with a suddenly broken and resigned voice, catching the boy completely off guard as tears streamed down her face. "I-I know it's a law from the Church to report anyone that has a Blessing, but…but…I don't want to end…like my sister and…snif…"

"He-hey, calm down! Please, Selka, don't cry!" pleaded the gamer while instinctively holding the crying girl and hugging her against his chest, almost as if it was something he was used to. "I'm not going to tell anyone, believe me."

"You…you aren't…? But…the law…"

"Selka…let me be honest with you. The reason I don't 'remember' things everyone here knows isn't because I lost my memories…" for an instant, Kirito wondered why he wasn't hesitating more, why he was taking this dangerous gamble for someone he barely knew…but his instincts were telling him the young apprentice could be trusted, and in that moment, they were the only thing he had left to rely on. "It's because I'm not from this world."

A deep silence filled the small room of the church, even as the girl slowly stopped sobbing and raised her gaze to look towards the black-haired boy in shock.

"…what did you just say?"

"I…know it's a bit too difficult to believe, but it's the truth, I swear." sighing, the gamer let go of her, wondering why was he even trying to accomplish with his words…damn him and his weakness to seeing girls crying! "I'm not from the Human World, I come…from a world beyond this one, uhm…far above it, so to speak, and…"

"You come from beyond the stars?" asked Selka with nothing but wonder in her voice as she stared at him, making Kirito blink in surprise, as he was expecting disbelief and/or thoughts of him being insane, not…that. "I…I didn't dream it, then…that light I saw descending yesterday towards the Gigas Cedar was actually you!"

"Uhm…I guess?" cautiously confirmed the boy while scratching his head. "Wait, was that why you were near that Gigas-tree's place despite it being 'cursed'?"

"Yes! I saw a bright light coming there from the heavens last night after another vision made me pray to Lunaria for answers!" there was no hiding the excitement in the apprentice's eyes as she grasped his hands, almost jumping in place in a very childish display. "I can't believe it, I've met someone from a completely different world! How are things in your world? Do you have different Gods? Is that why you didn't know ours? O-or perhaps our Gods live in the world you're from?! O-oh, Goddesses, I hadn't thought of that, ma-maybe you're a Di-Divine Messenger of some so…?!"

"Selka, breathe, please!" stopped her Kirito with a worried tone as he shook her shoulder's, making the girl finally remember she needed to breathe to live. "I can assure you I'm no Divine anything, I'm just a…mostly 'normal' guy, who has no idea how he got here and that is still trying to understand his situation, nothing more."

"I-I see…that makes sense, yeah…" mumbled Selka while looking down and biting her lips, seemingly analyzing everything she had just been told. "…you said you couldn't remember how you got here, right? What's the last thing you _actually_ remember?"

"I…was running away from someone…something…I had to get it away from Sugu and Asuna, and…"

 _Inhuman red eyes, snarling sounds, screams for his name, an unkempt man, a syringe filled with Death slamming into his fist…_

"Ki-Kirito…?"

"…I was trying to protect my family. And…I think I may have died." finished the black-haired boy with a stunned look, the newly recovered memory of Kanamoto Atsuchi, Johnny Black, injecting him with the 'Death Gun' as he punched his face now seared like fire in his mind.

"Wha-what?! Died?! Then how are you…?!"

"I don't know." whispered the gamer while sitting back on the bed, looking at his hands as he closed them into _(Powerless)_ fists, suddenly feeling extremely tired. "I'm not sure of…I don't know."

For some reason she couldn't understand, something deep within the young girl ached painfully at the sight. As if something inside of her couldn't stand, couldn't accept, the visage of that unknown boy being sad…

 _A distorted shadow smiled brightly at the giggling little girl, ruffling her hair under her sister's amused/disapproving gaze…_

…despite having just met him earlier that day…right?

"…Kirito, please, come with me!" urged Selka while standing up and dragging the black-haired boy by the hand, his surprise at the unexpected action causing him to just go along as she hauled him through the church's dark and silent hallways.

"Uhm, where are we going?" questioned the boy while trying to get out of his earlier daze, idly looking around to make sure the incredibly cliché Survival Horror-setting around them didn't decide to send zombies or mutants their way.

"To my room!" simply declared Selka with determination, Kirito nodding in understanding before his mind screeched to a halt at fully processing her words.

"Wait, your ro…?!"

By the time the words had started coming out of his mouth, however, he was already inside the Sacred Arts Apprentice's room, looking around in bewilderment as she closed the door and rushed towards a small table near her bed.

Idly realizing this was the first time he was in a girl's room that wasn't Sugu's, the gamer almost missed how the young girl rushed past him and sat back on her back, a complicated look on her face as she cradled a bundle of cloth on her lap, partially unwrapping to reveal the upper part of the last thing he would have expected to see in that world.

"A crystal ball?"

"Huh? Is that what it's called? Well, that's one mystery you have solved for me already." half-heartedly chuckled Selka as she covered the spherical object with her hands. "I found this not long after…after I lost my sister…and her best friend, who was like an older brother to me, in the forest to the north. I was like…drawn, towards it. For some reason it makes having my visions much easier and controllable, so I quickly hid it and…"

Slowly, as if trying to unleash a weight she had been carrying for so long, Selka Zuberg started to tell a story, which the shocked Kirito heard with rapt attention.

About a little girl that started to catch glimpses of things that hadn't happened yet in every reflective surface. About her older sister, and her friend, worrying and drilling into her head to keep it a secret (For reasons she couldn't understand back then), always taking care of her to make sure it stayed that way. About how the visions suddenly started showing up in her dreams, more clearly than before, as if having to try denying them had just made her bizarre 'gift' evolve. About a world that changed bizarrely without anyone realizing it or, maybe, not really caring about it. About how happy she was with her sister and her friend despite all the strange troubles it brought…

And how it all changed. How it all _ended_. The two of them, doing something they shouldn't have, her sister breaking an unbreakable law, a Knight whose Authority was absolute coming for her. About how the boy that she saw as an older brother did the impossible and attacked the knight, trying to save her sister, how she had seen this in shock from her home's window as the dragon carrying them rose into the heavens…and how the boy died because of it.

By the end of the tale, tears were falling down the young girl's face as she stared at the crystal ball, her voice reduced to barely more than a whisper.

"It didn't take me long to realize the truth of why my 'power', my 'Divine Blessing' had to be kept a secret from everyone, even from my parents, after that. If anyone knew, I…I would be taken away like Alice, because it's the law…it's what the Church says…bu-but I don't want to go away. I don't want to be punished for having a power the Goddesses gave me without me asking for it! I don't want…I don't want to see the future…I barely understand what I see most of the time anyway…"

"Selka…" started Kirito while walking to her side, sitting beside the apprentice and holding her up against his chest, caressing her head in a tender way. "It's okay. You're completely right, no one has any right to take you anywhere because of your ability. It won't happen, I...I promise I won't let it happen, okay?"

Selka, for her part barely remembered to nod as she stained the boy's shirt with her tears. In that moment, she didn't care why the sensation felt so familiar, why she felt so _safe_ in such a position, as if she had been in there before…

 _The little girl cried against the distorted shadow's chest, her leg bleeding from a cut while a boy of straw-colored hair rushed off calling for help, her sister at their side whispering soothing words as she summoned a Healing Sacred Art…_

…all that she cared for was that it made her felt better than she had in a long time.

Kirito, for his part (Or at least the part that wasn't wondering why comforting the young girl felt so weirdly familiar), was trying to process everything he had been told, the seemingly 'simple' world he had found himself trapped in suddenly seeming not so simple nor innocent anymore, what with the division between 'Light' and 'Darkness' their lands seemed to have, and also…

People from both lands getting strange powers. Rumors about suspiciously familiar abilities that rang a bell on his mind. A girl with the power to see the future in a crystal ball…

No…it couldn't be, right? No one, especially not Kikuoka, could be THAT stupid, not after the War of Ragnarok (Which was a 'secret' screamed to the winds) showed just how dangerous such a thing could be. And especially not throwing them into a world at the brink of war full of innocent beings without any explanation whatsoever, letting them interpret at their own leisure…unless…unless the main point of this world, of this 'experiment', was something much darker than any simple investigation on 'virtual life' (Because there was no way for him to call Selka, Azariya or any of the random people from Rulid he had seen that day 'Artificial Intelligences' at all).

But, if that was the case, then everyone in that world…

"Thank you…Kirito." finally muttered the apprentice before slowly letting go of him, wiping her tears and suddenly sporting a determination-filled face. "But the thing is…now I can finally do something good with my powers! I'm going to look into the future for you!"

"Wha-what?! Why would you…?!"

"You're lost, right? However you ended here, it wasn't out of your own will, and you want to go back home." looking at the expression crossing through the boy's face for an instant before smiling back at him. "That's why. If I look into the future, I may be able to tell you how to get home earlier!"

"Bu-but…didn't you just say that you have always done your best to not look into the future?" as much as he wanted to go back home, especially with the uncertainty of what had happened with Asuna and Suguha weighed in his mind (Not to mention how the others would react), the gamer had no wish of forcing the not even 13-years-old to do anything potentially dangerous and upsetting. "What if…?"

"You just trusted me with a very big secret, so it's not a problem, really! This may even be the reason I found you today!" smiled Selka before grasping the edges of the cloth's bundle and revealing the simple, yet strangely unnatural, crystal ball to the world. "Also, consider it my way of thanking you for comforting me right now!"

Before Kirito could even start saying anything else against the idea, the young girl put her hands over the sphere's sides and _stared_.

For the outside world, nothing changed at all except that the black-haired boy saw her eyes lose all light, turning a distantly familiar white.

For the apprentice, however, the insides of the crystal ball had suddenly erupted with myriad colors, turning into an all-encompassing light that seemed to suck her in. And within it, she saw…

Saw…

 _Screaming down like siblings of death, a white axe and a blue sword cleaved through the humanoid beasts, more and more emerging from the earth, but unable to stop the rage from the undying warrior…_

 _Running through the forests, the two fugitives fled from the light, trying to hide within the shadows they feared, but that Fate had made them a part of, their power too monstrous for the World to accept…_

 _Standing atop a hill, the rider and her ride walked away from their defeated and vanishing enemies, the grateful looks on the innocents they had saved just giving her the strength to keep going…_

 _Staring down into the seemingly endless abyss, the knight in golden armor clenched her empty hand into a fist while tightening her grip on her sword, before jumping into the darkness without hesitation…_

 _Hate filling his gaze, a red-eyed abomination stalked atop the roofs of bizarre buildings, never taking his eyes off the desperate girl on the strange two-wheeled vehicle that kept riding through the streets, searching for someone…_

 _A hooded shadow with an inhumanly long tongue loomed over a fallen form, a dagger raised on his hand as it descended to end the hero's life…_

 _Chains._

 _THE CHAINS._

 _Holding the Universe together from beyond Infinity…and then breaking it apart without mercy…!_

"SELKA! Selka, please, talk to me!" shouted Kirito while holding the shaking young girl in his arm, her body seemingly convulsing even after he had separated her from the crystal ball and covered it with the cloth bundle once again.

Just as he was about to throw caution to the window and call for Sister Azariya's help, the apprentice became deadly still, one of her hands shooting to grab his shirt in a surprisingly strong grip.

When his gaze moved back to her face, it was to see that her eyes were still blank…and to hear a hauntingly familiar phrase that sent chills down his back.

Just five words, one different from the original, but still equally foreboding…

 **"The Underworld…is in trouble…"**

Those words said, the girls' eyes closed and she slumped in his arms, unconscious.

As he stared at the 'sleeping' face of the pre-teen that had just potentially predicted the destruction of her world (With potentially no one strong enough to stop it around), Kirito couldn't help but think that, for once, he was truly and totally out of his depth.

Somewhere, within the darkness, a massive form stirred, white eyes opening and zeroing in on the distant mountains as massive black wings unfolded…

* * *

The light of Solus had been already shining down for a few hours the next day as Selka carried several trays of food through the church's corridors, a slightly worried look on her face as she bit her lips, the morning bell having just announced it was time for the children to get some breakfast.

However, for once the Sacred Arts Apprentice wasn't worried about if they would eat all of their food instead of playing with it or something along those lines, as her mind was way too busy thinking about very different matters.

When she had woken up that morning, she had barely been able to suppress her scream of shock at seeing Kirito sleeping on a chair in front of her bed, his face awfully close to hers. Thankfully, the boy had woken up almost immediately and explained how worried he was after her 'reaction' before passing out so he had kept watch over her, which prompted her to apologize for the trouble before entering in deep/worried thought.

That had been the first time she willingly and purposefully used her power to see into the future.

Certainly, she had caught several accidental glimpses sometimes, especially when she was younger, but she had never had any 'full vision' outside her dreams because she took special care to not let it happen, fearful that her secret could be revealed.

The main difference though, was that her dreams were always nebulous things that she could only half-remember, and all of them of an event/events taking place at the same time.

Her vision from yesterday, though, she could recall with perfect clarity, each and every single one of the scenes (Which were clearly different, and distant from each other, events) she could still see as if she had been there to witness them herself in person. Even though she couldn't really do much with them, it was still a shock for the young girl how easily she could remember all the details on them.

It was as terrifying as it was confusing, both because she now knew and fully accepted she was seeing things that hadn't happened yet and because of how disconcerting was seeing people she didn't even know doing things she could barely understand (That one of the red-eyed creature following some girl with that strange 'vehicle' had been more than disconcerting, especially because wherever it was happening didn't look like anywhere she knew of).

Not to mention the frankly disturbing revelation that she had lost a tenth of her Life thanks to the ordeal, when she had worriedly checked her Stacia Window after hearing the otherworldly boy's explanation (Something that had apparently greatly surprised and intrigued him…didn't they have Windows in his world? How did they measure everything's Life then?). Nothing that wouldn't recover with sleep and healthy meals for a couple days, but this was still the first time her visions, as disconcerting as they were, had actually _hurt_ her.

She hadn't been able to describe them to Kirito, both because he had quickly scrambled back to his room (Just the thought of what Sister Azariya would do if she caught the boy in her room made her shiver in fright) and because she had been…distracted, by a certain part of one of the visions.

That of the mysterious boy (Man?) covered in the shadows of a forest, fighting against strange subterranean humanoid creatures.

Because, while the person had their back to them and between that and the shadows she couldn't even properly see him, one of the weapons he carried had caught her attention.

For some reason, she felt as if she should know the feral-looking axe on his left hand from somewhere…

"…and then, Saitama punched forward…and Vaccine Man was blown into pieces with such force even the dark clouds above the city dispersed!"

"Woah!"

"No way!"

"Amazing!"

Blinking in surprise, the apprentice walked the last Mels separating her from the church's 'lunchroom', entering just in time to see the children looking more excited than she ever remembered them, crowded around a smiling and exaggeratedly gesturing Kirito, as he finished telling them some sort of tale.

"…after falling to his knees, be loudly cried: _'All it took was one punch again! Damn it!'_ " grinned the black-haired boy as the children erupted into laughter, though some of them looked at him with total disbelief.

"Really? Man, that's so…"

"Weird?"

"Yeah! I mean, who would complain about being so strong?!"

"You would be surprised, believe me." replied the boy while looking towards the ceiling with a wistful smile, confusing the children as his gaze seemed to become strangely distant. "Without something clear to use that strength for, being the strongest can become truly frustrating…"

"Ehem, good morning everyone!" quickly interrupted Selka whatever the children were about to say, their faces brightening and Kirito looking at her in surprise as she put the foot on the table. "Time for breakfast, kids!"

"Thanks a lot, Selka-neesan!"

After that cheerful greeting (And a prayer of thanks to the Goddesses that the Sacred Arts Apprentice had to remind them all to do), the group started to eat eagerly, the black-haired boy looking over the assembled children with a small smile as the young girl sat at his side and ate too, looking at him from time to time.

Not much later, both secret-sharers were sitting just outside the church, the children from before playing happily as they ran out towards the village's streets after being told to not get into troubles.

"…they're nice kids." idly commented Kirito with a neutral tone, looking sideways to the apprentice at his side. "Are they…?"

"Orphans. The church takes care of them until they're assigned their Sacred Tasks…most of them will have their task by next year." informed Selka with a bittersweet tone, even as the black-haired boy grimaced and looked back to where the half a dozen kids had gone. "It's not so bad, really. Between me and sister Azariya we make sure they're as happy as they can possibly, it's just…the world is turning more and more dangerous and…sometimes it seems no one really realizes or cares…"

"…so, Sacred Tasks, uh? That's a concept I'm not sure I could get used to." commented the gamer in a clear attempt to change the subject, which the young girl wasn't sure if to feel grateful or annoyed for.

"You don't have them in your world, you mean?" asked the young girl in honest shock. "How do you decide what everyone will do for their live, then?"

"We…don't. Everyone decides for themselves what they want to do…what they want to become…"

"That sounds…woah…" more shocked than she thought she would be after the 'Another World' reveal, Selka looked back at the ground, wondered what she would have chosen to do if she had ever possessed such a chance. "A-and…what about you? What do you do in your world?"

"I…still haven't decided…" whispered Kirito while looking down at his hands, clenching and unclenching them, as if he was trying to see something that wasn't there, something the apprentice had noticed him doing more than once. "Or…maybe a part of me has, but knows it's impossible…"

"…it seems your world is way more complicated than I thought…but it's still your home, right?" putting a hand over the boy's shoulders, the young girl trying to convey as much comfort with her smile as she remembered her sister's did for her when she was little. "Don't worry, I promise to do everything I can to help you go back to your family."

His family…everyone…

"…heh, thanks a lot, Selka. I needed that." sincerely answered the gamer while ruffling her hair, the apprentice pouting cutely at him at the action even as his gaze wandered beyond the village's limits, towards the only clear 'landmark' near it that wasn't the massive mountain range at the north. "Say…you told me the area around that tree was 'cursed', right? Why is that?"

"Ah…well, you see…the Gigas Cedar has been there since before the foundation of Rulid, over 300 years ago. No one knows how or why such a tree exists or where it came from, but it just keeps becoming impossibly big and strong by draining the Resources of the earth in the whole area, stopping us from expanding our crops towards the south, the only direction possible, so the founders requested a special axe that could cut through its bark and a Sacred Task to cut it down was created…"

"Wait, you mean to tell me people have been trying to cut that thing for _300 years_?! And it's still standing?!" almost shouted Kirito while looking back towards the black tree with wide eyes.

What kind of tree was that?!

"Yes, even the axe made of dragon bone was barely able to put a dent on its massive Life. Several generations spent their lifetimes trying to cut it, and we apparently were already a third of the way…until a bit over 6 years ago. The axe was lost…together with the last holder of the Sacred Task, my sister's childhood friend…Eugeo."

"Oh…Selka, I'm sorry, I didn't know…" suddenly at a loss of words, the black-haired boy looked away from the sad-looking young girl. "You don't need to keep…"

"No, it's okay, I'm…I'm over it." assured Selka with a small smile before looking towards the Gigas Cedar. "After that, not only were there no funds to get another axe, but 'strange' things also started happening near it. People would say they felt as if they were being watched, strange cut-like marks would appear on its roots every day, strange sounds would come from the surrounding forest…it kept going for months until my father was forced to officially declare the area as 'off limits' for public safety…and also to cancel the Sacred Task."

"I…see." whispered Kirito while looking towards the black tree once again, wondering what it must have felt to lose 300 years of work just after what had been, as far as he had been told, the biggest tragedy on the village's history. "Sorry, I must have brought down the mood with that, why don't we get back inside and you tell me what can I help you with to not feel like a freeloader?"

"…what's a freeloader?" asked the now blinking young girl with confusion, making the black-haired boy sweatdrop.

"Uhm, well, it's someone that…"

It happened without warning.

Suddenly, every single cell in the gamer's body seemed to scream, a familiar and half-forgotten feeling of tension beyond anything else filling his very being.

He had only felt like this a handful of times and all of them only since he got trapped in SAO, during the last 4 years of his life.

Fighting Heathcliff. Confronting Death Gun. Stopping Equinox.

It was different though, for, this time, it felt like the last and most recent one, being face to face with whatever Xaxa had become, had felt.

The feeling of something unstoppable threatening his life, while he had no power to stop it.

Almost without realizing it, Kirito stood up, ignoring Selka's confused look as his gaze moved all around what he could see of the village, then beyond its walls, at the forests around, at the Gigas Cedar and, finally, towards the massive mountain range at the north.

Almost as in slow motion, the black-haired boy saw a black blur emerge from beyond it, soaring high over the mountaintops before starting to descend, its shape becoming more defined as it did…and its size increasing accordingly.

"Kirito, what's wro…? Wait…what…what is that thi…?"

The gamer's eyes were already able to distinguish the sight of wings when a soul-shaking screech reached Rulid, freezing the hearts of all its inhabitants for an instant.

"No…no way…it can't be…"

All-white eyes stared forward hungrily. A bird-like body bigger than the village's church cut through the frozen air like an arrow. Claws big enough to crush a car opened.

The screech of the black monster sounded again. Screams and cries filled the air.

"What in the Goddesses names…?!" started to scream Selka while staring towards the incoming abomination, before Kirito's emotionless words cut her off.

"Disaster-Level Demon…Giant Crow."

"Eh?"

When he turned towards her, his face and eyes seemed devoid of any emotion…but for the young apprentice with the power to 'see' what humans shouldn't there was no hiding the fear burning behind his gaze.

"EVERYONE, TAKE COVER!"

And within the Northern Cave, in one of its most hidden and inhospitable corners, cold green eyes snapped open as the second screech of the Mysterious Being shook the entire cavern.

"What…?! Something so big made it through?! But nothing…! No…no way, flight? Seriously? The world is truly falling more and more towards Chaos…"

As he mumbled those words, the figure in the dark started moving, steps becoming a light jog and then a speed even the best athletes would never be able to reach, his body arching forward as one of his hands reached towards his right side and the other behind his back.

"Wake up, you two…"

Within the darkness of the cave, the edges of two weapons gleamed as much as the young man's emerald-like eyes.

A wicked-looking axe of bone, which seemed to be growling.

A beautiful-looking blue-white sword, which seemed to be humming.

"…no one else is going to suffer on our watch."

At the edge of Reality, a piece moved over a board of fate at the words, the ice/bone-covered figure rushing into the battlefield, even as a worried Absolute voice answered.

"[Undead Knight to Black-White King…]"

* * *

 **…**

 **…STARTING…**

 **…OPENING REPORT LOG.**

 **EMERGENCY REPORT #23!**

 **Non-controlled Above-Tiger Threat has entered the Human World by bypassing the Northern Cave!**

 _-Unidentified Fluctlight ('Curse' has damaged all_ _human thinking beyond repair)_

 _-Divine Curse: 'GIANT CROW'. Complete transformation into a massive, omnivorous and maddened version of the described bird. Size is approximately 24 meters/Mels from wingtip to wingtip and around ten from beak to tail. Possess razor-sharp teeth on the beak that allow to easily biting through mid-sized structures with minimal effort. Resistance and Life enhanced beyond any Normal Fluctlight. Capacity of flying through thousands of Mels before needing to rest._

 _- Threat Level to the Underworld: Demon (Medium High)._

 _-Status: Out of control, ruled by its instincts, all ability for human communication lost…_

 **Emergency! No Integrity Knights available to deal with the threat for the next 24 Hours! Possibility of total destruction of the Rulid Area: 99.9%! Possibility of the loss of every single Fluctlight in the area: 95%!**

 **…possibility of the disaster expanding beyond the area before being dealt with: 43% Target will be busy feeding** _…01101110 01101111…_ **and digesting its food to recover energy needed to cross the Mountain Range. By the time it can move again, forces more than enough to deal with it will be available.**

 **…the losses are acceptable within the Project's goals. The threat to Administrator's main goal is minimum. Therefore, all losses are considered** _…01110111 01101000 01111001 00001101 00001010_ … **acceptable.**

 **END OF REPORT LOG.**

 **SENDING TO ADMINISTRATOR…ADMINISTRATOR UNAVAILABLE.**

 **SENDING TO CHIEF ELDER…**

…

…

…s…a…v…e…t…h…e…m…

* * *

 _Next…_

 **A world that is wrong, corrupted to its core…**

 _Chaos reigned as people cried or fell to their knees, the shadow starting to cover the sky…_

 _Kirito: RUN! Get in your homes, head for basements, don't stay…!_

 _Selka: Kirito, the children!_

 **Yet, no one seems able to see the Darkness…**

 _Azariya: Goddesses, protect us…_

 _Gasupht: Is this…a punishment…?_

 _Kirito: Don't just stand there! Don't you see everyone is in danger?!_

 **Can a powerless Hero change everything…?**

 _Selka: What are you doing?!_

 _The massive beast descended again, screeching towards the crying child. The black-haired boy ran forward, towards the gigantic claw._

 _Kirito: Being a Hero._

 **Or perhaps…Will the world send its own help?**

 _?: You sure are an odd one…are you so eager to die?_

 _Kirito: Who…who are you…?_

 _Selka: N-no…no way…I saw you die…everyone saw…_

 _?: …I got better._

 **Next time on 'One Punch Gamer: Chains of Fate':**

 **Chapter 2: The Living Dead.**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** …see, calm and slow, just like Canon Alicization :P

Jokes aside, though, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. As you can see, I'm making quite the focus into showing the differences with Canon, both in the setting and in Kirito's reactions to the Underworld, not to mention how much less Kikuoka told him compared to Canon, for more than obvious reasons.

Also, those with their OPM and Alicization knowledge may already be seeing the ton of foreshadowing and teasing that filled this chapter in several ways. The more we get in, the more we stray from Canon thanks to Kikuoka's brilliant idea of throwing superpowers that can easily wipe out big cities in a world where Imagination can shape Reality, and where nothing is what it really seems…

Oh, and hope you liked the new 'style' for the "Next Episode Preview", I decided to use a more dramatic one because I figured the OPM-styled one I used for the previous one wouldn't really fit Alicization's overall tone XP

And well, with that, it's all I had to say…so I now leave you with the first Omake of this story :D! Can you guess which series is about before it becomes too obvious? Enjoy!

* * *

 **Omake: Capes and Roses 1**

It was a pretty normal and unassuming night in the peaceful-looking city, though anyone who had heard/witnessed the events taking place not far from that specific rooftop probably would have been able to tell you how fake such notions were.

Even so, the World's attention was centered on that particular roof because of what was about to take place.

All of a sudden, arcane symbols appeared on the building's surface, ancient power gathering while light coalesced into a single point, Reality being forcibly broken as mystical energies did their best to take shape into something that could poorly contain the power of the entity which was being summoned.

And finally, when the power reached its tipping point and exploded, what came forth was…a black-haired teenager in an unimpressive and silly jumpsuit and cape.

Blinking a couple times before an _'Oh, again, uh?'_ -look appeared on his face, Kirito sighed before looking down at his hands as he opened and closed his fist, trying to get a feel of his current body.

"Let's see…not a Servant, sadly, and not a Familiar either. Definitively not an Eidolon nor a Guardian Spirit, I don't appear to be a Wraith and thank Everything (Except those fucking Absolute Ones) I'm not a Stand. I could go without that ever happening again. Taking all of that into account and my apparent lack of Summoner of any kind…" giving a look around, the Hero grimaced slightly as the situation finally became clear to him. "Great…is one of _those_ summonings, uh?"

Before he was able to ponder further into that, Kirito finally became aware of the sound of clashing weapons and shots being fired in the vicinity. Taking a moment to admire the broken moon in the sky (And that would have probably surprised him more if he hadn't been in worlds with two of them or some with six suns), the black-haired Heroic Spirit walked towards the rooftop's edge and looked down…

In time to see what seemed like a dark red-haired Gothic Lolita version of Little Red Riding Hood armed with a giant mechanical scythe (Which was also some kind of rifle), fighting an orange-haired man dressed like a more stylish version of Charles Chaplin, armed with a cane that was _also_ a firearm and several generic-looking grunts that seemed to be identical siblings or something along those lines lay unconscious all around them.

Dispelling the vague feeling there was a joke there that he was missing, the Hero took a couple seconds to try and discern who was the 'good guy' in this situation (And anyone who thought he was stupid in doing so clearly hadn't been in worlds where powerful evil entities took the shape of lolis or where Jesus Christ was the bad guy) before nodding to himself and jumping down into the fray, his landing slightly cracking the street under his feet and making his cape flap behind him as both combatants froze and turned to look at him in surprise.

"Woah…"

"What the…?!"

"Room for one more?" asked Kirito with a nonchalant smile.

"Where do you annoying kids keep coming from?!" growled the orange-haired man before raising his cane towards the newcomer, the 'tip' opening to allow whatever projectile the weapon shot to be fired.

As he effortlessly evaded the attack, the caped hero couldn't help but think about the irony of the apparent thief calling him a 'kid'.

"Hey, watch out!" shouted the now panicked girl as she…'zoomed' through the air, for lack of a better term, somehow turning into a cloud of rose petals while doing so, tackling Kirito out of the way…or trying to, as all she managed was to make the surprised 'boy' take a step back as she solidified again against him, her vision spinning around as the following shot passed just over them. "Uaaah…wha-what are you made of?!"

"In my defense, you shouldn't go tackling people you just randomly met…also, that guy is getting away." calmly commented the hero before pointing towards the man of the bowler hat, who was already 3/4 of the way up a building's ladder.

Squeaking in surprise, the scythe-wielder disentangled herself from him and shot after the thief, Kirito taking a moment to send an apologetic look towards the owner of the shop that had apparently been wrecked during the ordeal before easily jumping all the way to the roof, landing besides the once again surprised girl just in time to see their runaway opponent aboard what seemed like a vertical/horizontal moving aircraft, that had somehow arrived without anyone apparently noticing despite how incredibly loud it was.

"Wha…? Did you just jump all the way up here?" asked the hooded girl with a bit of awe, moving her gaze away from the enemy on the flying vehicle in what was a surprisingly careless act from someone so skilled at fighting.

"Yeah, but don't get distracted!" shouted the caped hero before quickly moving before her, hand raised to intercept the latest shot coming from the Charles Chaplin-wannabe thief…

…and it turned out to be completely unnecessary, as a bespectacled blonde woman, armed with what seemed like a riding crop, showed up out of nowhere and created a magical shield to protect both of them.

What followed was quite a colorful exchange of magical attacks between the bespectacled woman and whoever had been waiting for the orange-haired thief within the aircraft, which the scythe-wielding girl apparently found impressive and that Kirito may have if he hadn't been summoned as a Familiar for actual mages twice in the past, both of which would have been able to put both women to shame magic-wise while being way younger than them.

In the end, the caped hero had to restrain himself from simply taking down the airship (Mainly because using his jokingly-named _'I cast Fist!'_ -Skill to take down flying vehicles had been 'banned' unanimously by his family after a particularly messy accident during one of his many summonings) and saw them fly away after getting particularly messy, though not before all but hauling his casual ally out of the way of their enemy's last explosive attack, unknowingly having been faster than the blonde woman's telekinesis, which was about to do the same.

Receiving a hasty 'Thanks' from her, their 'savior' had quickly stood before them, who the suddenly excited girl had asked for an autograph upon recognizing her as a 'Huntress'…

And that's how both of them had ended up in what looked suspiciously like an interrogation room, his new 'friend' looking devastated as they waited for the woman, who was apparently called Glynda Goodwitch (Talk about funny names), to come talk to them about their 'reckless actions'.

"I can't believe this is happening…" muttered the silver-eyed girl with comically big tears in her eyes.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I think you did the right thing by confronting that guy." offered Kirito with a small smile.

"Re-really?"

"Yes…also, you got a nice cape."

"O-oh, thanks! Yours is, uhm, cool, too!"

And that was as far as their conversation went before Glynda entered the room, with a look in her eyes that made the girl shrink in fear/worry.

The caped hero…well, he had seen way more intimidating things even back when he was actually alive.

With interest, he silently witnessed how the bespectacled woman's scolding turning into the introduction of an enigmatic-looking man called Ozpin, and how he 'subtly' interrogated the scythe-wielding girl (Who he discovered was called Ruby Rose and had an inclination for devouring cookies as fast as she moved in battle), bringing forth her motives for learning to fight, her dream of helping people (Which he found noble in a very nostalgic way) and how much she wanted to get into 'Beacon Academy', where her older sister was starting that year, and that the man just-so-happened to be the Headmaster of.

Even before the conversation ended, Kirito had already deduced there was more than meets the eye to the whole thing, and Ruby was still having an excitement-breakdown upon being told she was going to go to Beacon two years earlier than everyone else when the bespectacled man turned to look at him.

Within those eyes, the caped hero noticed, was wisdom and power way beyond what he looked like, very differently from the girl at his side or the woman standing beside the headmaster.

Once again, he was not impressed because, well, he had seen worse and more of the same time, several times.

"And then, there is you, the mysterious hero. You show up out of nowhere and fight surprisingly well for someone weaponless and that we have no record of, mister…?"

"I go by Kirito, if you must know. And well, let's just say that I need no other weapon beyond my fists." nonchalantly answered the Heroic Spirit without a care in the world, much to the woman's apparent annoyance and the man's intrigue, even as Ruby _'Oh!'_ -ed upon realizing she had never asked his name. "Also, before you ask, no, I'm not interested in going to your school."

The look of shock all three sent his way (Ruby's especially, as she looked at him as if he had just rejected Santa Claus' offer of all the videogames in the world) was a bit unnerving, but there was no way Kirito was going through yet another of the 'supernatural/mystical/abnormal school' settings. It was frustrating enough already when the conditions of his summoning forced him to do so, he wasn't about to start doing it when it wasn't forcibly needed.

"…I see. That's disappointing to hear, young man. Also, I fear we will have to call your parents to inform them about…"

"Oh, don't worry, it won't be needed." dismissed the caped hero before standing up, ignoring Glynda's shout of indignation in favor of waving at the still-shocked Ruby. "It was a pleasure, Ruby; I wish you luck with your endeavors!"

And then, before they could even blink, he was gone, only a rush of wind and the slightly moving door of the room as testament he had vanished at all.

Ozpin and Glynda were especially shocked, as none of them had even _felt_ the boy move, while Ruby…

"Holy cakes! How did he move so fast?!"

…was busy being awed/jealous.

Minutes later, the black-haired boy was standing atop the same roof where he had been appeared in that world, sighing as he stared towards the broken moon, having confirmed his earlier suspicions, especially when he concentrated on his link with his family back in the Throne and he could barely feel it, like just the general 'whisper' of their thoughts could reach him.

"It really IS one of those summonings, uh?" sighed the caped hero before looking down and putting a hand on the ground, a tired smile on his face. "I don't suppose you're going to give me a clue about what I have to do, right?"

The World of Remnant, his summoner, offered no answer.

Planetary Summonings were a pain, especially because of how precarious his anchor with Reality was and how very limited his mystical energy (Or Prana, as they called it in Shirou's world) his temporary body had access to before vanishing. All of those factors combined made it almost all but impossible to call forth any member of his family, unless he wanted to risk vanishing almost instantly (Not to mention that he didn't get _any_ clue as to what he was supposed to do).

The 'problem' with the current situation, though, was that, as far as he knew, Planetary Summonings only happened when a world was at risk of such a devastating catastrophe it threatened its very balance in the worst possible way.

Last time he had one of those summonings, extra-dimensional kaiju-sized aliens with a love for giving the middle finger to the laws of physics, which could only be fought by emotionally-damaged teenagers in giant bio-mechas, were threatening to destroy the world (Getting rid of said aliens had actually been the _simplest_ of his problems back then).

The time before that, 7 super-powerful cyborgs powered by soul-energy had tried to take over their world and all but enslaved people to worship them to death like 'Deities' if needed, while the 8th of them, which they had apparently betrayed and was powered by Rage itself, wreaked havoc trying to get his revenge and get his daughter back. He had been doing nothing but going around running damage control and trying to save lives from the absurd collateral damage for most of that summoning.

And so and so on.

But here in Remnant, unlike previous times, no clear disaster or catastrophic threat seemed evident at first sight. Not to mention that, unlike previous worlds, who still obeyed the Laws of Reality and were forced to reject his unnatural existence bit by bit despite having Summoned him, Remnant seemed to be doing its damned best to keep him there, as if it was desperate for not letting him go.

Shaking his head, Kirito considered his options as he decided his next course of action.

Lack of clear objective or not, one thing those summonings always had in common was that they usually dumped him as close as possible to someone who would be key in the events that would threaten the World. So, he either had to track down Charles Chaplin with eyeliner or…

"…dammit…where was that Beacon Academy again?"

As he sighed again and decided to look for the closest library (Or whatever they had for that purpose in that Universe), the caped hero took solace in that he at least didn't have to actually attend the aforementioned school to keep an eye on Ruby Rose's activities.

He was so busy thinking that and moving away from there that, by the time he had vanished from the roof at inhuman speeds, he never noticed the strange 'crack' in the air that had appeared in the same spot he had materialized from.

Finally, with an eerie not-sound, the wound in Reality was forced open, _Something_ that Did Not Belong to that Plane emerging from Unreality, the formless entity spinning aimlessly for several seconds before shooting away, hungrily searching for someone, even as the damage was repaired and no trace of anything unnatural remained on the roof.

Unseen, Remnant's night grew darker…

* * *

 **Author's Notes 2:** RWBY and its characters don't belong to me, they belong to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (Never forget) :3

Well, here it begins, a crossover-Omake I have been looking forward to do, with one of the most famous web-series of recent times and my favorite without a doubt :P. For those who plan to watch RWBY or those that are watching it but aren't up to date with it, this Omakes will cover the plot from vols. 1 to 3, plus relevant background information revealed in 4 (Origins of specific things, characters backstories, etc). It _shouldn't_ contain anything of the currently airing vol. 5, but if yet another piece of relevant character-background info is revealed I may add it on a specific part too, though most likely not. Also, if it wasn't obvious, Kirito had been through a lot more things since he was summoned by Shirou for the 5th Grail War, which may be randomly referenced here and there XP

And after all of that, it has been a pleasure being read by all of you again. Please leave a review if you have time, feedback helps out immensely with all the new content of this story XP!

Until next time, this is Saint, signing off!


	4. Chapter 2: The Living Dead

Welcome again, everyone! It has been a while, hasn't it?

Now then, I could spend several lines making excuses for myself about the long delay, but I'm pretty sure you have a lot of more interesting things to be doing this time of the year than listening to me rambling about my studies and life getting in the way. I will say I'm also guilty of spending lots of time finishing the best JRPG I have played in years, though. May the Gods bless Persona 5. It's one of the few times I'm willing to call a game 'masterpiece' :3

That aside, though, I promise I will do my best for the next chapter to come out as fast as I can! I have a bit longer holidays than usual because of reasons, to I will try to not slack off in that regard. Also, I was thinking of putting a poll about an idea I had if any of you would be interested in reading. Basically, it would be a collection of short stories about events that happened to the UHA between the beginning of this fic and the end of the last one, 'OPG: UHA Chronicles' basically XP

And with that said, I finally leave you all with the long-awaited chapter! Oh, also, remember that the TvTropes page of OPG was accommodated to fit this sequel and is in need of an Update. My Troper Skills don't get any better regardless of how my Writing Skills go XD

Enjoy!

 **PS:** Once again, thanks a lot to pikatwins234 for Betaing the chapter :3!

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The Living Dead**

 **9th Month of the Human Empire Calendar, 378. Rulid's Village, Just outside the Church…**

Disaster Levels. Such a simple yet terrifying concept to measure untold destruction.

Of course, while no one getting into the series known as 'One Punch-Man' for the first time would think such a thing, those who were long-time fans of it or had at least bothered doing deeper research, would realize how truly scary and catastrophic things were in there.

For starters, OPM took place in a different world from normal Earth, which had only one massive supercontinent (Not unlike the ancient Pangea), which was divided on the so-called 'cities' labeled from A to Z.

That should be more than enough to put things in perspective, at least for anyone with enough awareness of what it meant: This made even the smallest of the so-called 'cities' of One Punch-Man's world to be _the size of a small country_.

Disaster Levels Wolf and even Tiger could perhaps be 'disregarded', in a sense. Sure, they were still dangerous, especially the latter, but even the worst-case scenario of it was something still within the scope that the average 'Heroes' could handle. Something that, in the _real_ world, would still be possible to manage for actual human forces, be it police or maybe even the military, with relative collateral damage.

Then, came Disaster Level-Demon. Textually explained as _'A threat endangering a whole city or its infrastructure'_.

It didn't sound too bad until, once again, one realized the 'cities' they were talking about were, in fact, the size of an average _real-world country_. Meaning, a 'Demon' had enough power to, in the best case scenario, render an entire country unable to sustain itself, and of totally obliterating it at worst (Time taken for such a thing to happen depending on the threat, of course).

A Disaster Level-Dragon could do the same but on a scale comparable to doing it to an area around the size _China or the United States_ in the real world.

Kirito was no expert on measuring things by eye, nor had he had time to ask around how big Rulid Village was, but he was sure as hell that it wasn't even remotely near the size of a small country. In fact, he doubted even the whole 'Human World' had enough land to fully qualify as that, or barely.

And a beast able to cause destruction on such a scale was now heading straight for the small and, compared to one of its original setting, very primitive settlement.

 _…we're not going to make it…_

"By the Goddesses!"

"Wha-what is that?!"

"Bwaaaaah…!"

"So-someone sound an alarm, we need to…!"

"TAKE COVER!" screamed Kirito from where he was standing before the church, Selka's gaze snapping back to him from where it had been glued to the incoming black abomination. "FIND A PLACE TO HIDE!"

 _It's useless, that thing's beak can easily break through skyscraper's walls…these houses aren't going to stop it…_

"Ki-Kirito, what…?!"

"Selka, there is no time! Is there a basement on the church?! If so, I need you to try and get everyone around down there! That thing is…!"

"Ki-Kirito, the children!" interrupted the young apprentice as the massive form of Giant Crow drew closer.

The black-haired boy froze, his mind screeching to a halt.

The children. The ones that had just had breakfast with them…the ones who just ran out to play in the village.

As he turned around and the world 'slowed down' around him, the voices of Selka and the screaming villagers became almost muted in his ears…the gamer had never felt how truly 'weak' he really was without his 'powers' until that very moment. The world around him going so slowly, from the screaming villagers to the massive shadow approaching from the heavens, having never felt more like a horrible curse than a weird blessing, because he knew it wouldn't be enough to stop the incoming catastrophe, not without the strength, the speed, the **Power** needed to make that perception into reality…

But that didn't mean he wouldn't try.

After all, he hadn't left the monstrous Xaxa kill Asuna and Suguha back then, right?

"I'm going to look for them!" screamed Kirito as he shot down the street, surprising Selka for a moment at his speed, the girl having never seen even adults that spent their lives moving heavy equipment for the fields go so fast. "You stay inside!"

The gamer didn't even give her time to answer before he turned a corner, feeling his legs burning from the strain he was putting on them, a part of him cursing Kikuoka for the extreme realism of his 'experiment' while the other was keenly aware of his surroundings, his eyes looking at every corner of the small street as he turned towards another.

He saw what he was looking for right then. Two kids, a boy and a girl, frozen in place as they stared at the screeching form of Giant Crow flying towards the village, holding each other and seemingly unable to react.

They barely put up any resistance when Kirito ran past and snatched both of them up, one under each of his arms.

A part of him screamed that they were too heavy for him, together with his aching and very-real-feeling muscles.

The part of him that had punched Heathcliff out of existence back in Aincrad quickly told that part to shut up, even as the Mysterious Being finally swept past the village, tearing apart the top of the few buildings that had more than one floor as if they were made of glass.

He barely registered the pain when he threw himself towards the front of a house, half-hiding under the entrance as he covered the screaming children with his body, some miraculously small pieces of debris falling all around them.

When the brutal winds caused by the passing of the beast vanished, the gamer risked a glance upwards and was glad to see it fly away and upwards inland. On the one hand, it meant that it still had to respect the laws of physics and inertia despite being a tennis court-sized bird. On the other hand, it clearly had realized there was 'food' down there, and the next sweep probably would do way more than just destroying a couple homes.

Trying as hard as he could to not think about the few houses he could clearly see had completely caved in, Kirito stood up and ran again, feeling both kids sobbing and holding to him as hard as they could. He didn't even hesitate to hold the hand of another, crying and trembling one when they passed him by, leaning against a half-collapsed wall.

He was back at the church before he knew it, Selka turning away from guiding some scared villagers inside to look at him with so much relief that it seemed she could have fainted from it. Beside her, sister Azariya looked on in shock, even as an elderly man he didn't know stared from the crying and scared people to the flying shadow of Giant Crow, despair and fear in his eyes.

"Kirito, you're okay! And…you brought them!" happily screamed the young apprentice while rushing to his side, helping two of the kids out of his tired hands even as the last one gave him a thankful nod and ran after his friends as Selka pushed them inside the church. "Quick, we need to…!"

"It's coming back." whispered the nun with wide eyes, everyone following her line of sight to see the sinister form of the Mysterious Being starting to turn around at a respectable distance from Rulid, clearly aiming to ram into the village again. "Goddesses, protect us…ah! Chief Gasupht!"

"Father!" shouted Selka upon seeing the man falling to his knees as he stared towards the incoming monstrosity.

"No…why? No help will arrive in time…" muttered Gasupht Zuberg as he looked towards the ground with despair-filled eyes. "Is…is this a punishment? Did we do something to anger the Goddesses? Maybe the Axiom Church still hasn't forgiven my daughter and that boy's sin of…?"

The man was unable to keep talking, because, in that moment, someone roughly grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to stand up, rather violently.

Gasupht had spent his whole life living in a rather peaceful and relaxed environment, because of his world's nature (Even if he didn't know this wasn't that natural). Even during the incident years ago that made him lost his daughter, he hadn't found any animosity or anger directed towards him, and the violence he had contemplated had been something bizarre between a kid defying one of the highest and most respected figures of authority in the world.

In that moment, however, as he stared at the anger and determination-filled eyes of the black-haired boy…no, _young man_ , holding him, a part of his soul just KNEW that all of that was about to change forever.

For better or worse.

"How can you just lie down there, lamenting things in a moment like this?! Don't you see everyone in your village is in danger?!" shouted Kazuto before pointing towards the church's half-open door, an extremely serious look on his face. "If you have time to feel sorry for yourself, then use it to try and calm down your people before they panic and…!"

It wasn't the latest screech of Giant Crow, much closer than he had thought it would be so soon, what froze Kazuto's heart, no. It was the screams and sobs of a child, followed by Selka and Azariya's shouts of horror, making him turn in time to see the last of the church's orphans, turning the corner on the farthest end of the street and limping towards them, his left leg clearly hurt and tears staining his face.

Giant Crow saw him too, if the way in which it screeched and slightly altered its flying path was anything to go by, one of its massive claws opening hungrily.

There was no time to think. No time to hesitate. No time to even second-guess the idiocy he was committing.

All that the gamer knew was that, when he was aware of what was going on once again, he was already halfway down the street, running so fast his legs hurt, heading towards the frozen child while the beast's titanic shadow obscured everything.

"What are you doing?!" came a terrified scream from behind him, probably from Selka.

"Being a Hero." subconsciously answered Kirito before doing his best to skid to a halt, grab the kid and, in one swift motion, thrown him towards the closest wall, making him scream in pain.

Not the most heroic thing he had ever done, from a standard point of view.

The massive claw that scissored the air around him at the speed of a car a second later begged to differ. Especially when he had to twist himself in a painful way and _hold onto it_ to not become a crushed piece of meat.

Pain, like he had never felt before, hit the boy all at once, but he was unable to scream because of the air being brutally driven out of his lungs, even as his brain was barely able to force his screaming arms and legs to keep hold of beast's talons' upper part. The world around him moved way too fast, for once not out of his own volition, causing the air to scream as it rushed all around his body. Also, he was very sure a couple of his ribs had broken.

Even so, the gamer couldn't help the feral bloody smile that blossomed into his face once, after his breath shallowly returned, he turned around to see the form of Sister Azariya rushing to the crying kid's help, Selka and Gasupht staring at his every-second-further-away silhouette with shock, disbelief, awe, and horror.

Not bad for someone without superpowers, if he was allowed to say it himself.

The newest screech/roar coming from Giant Crow brought his mind back to reality, however. Especially when he realized the sharp turn the Mysterious Being's wings were taking.

It had grown tired of the 'sweeping' approach. It was going to land on the village and tear everything apart to feed.

The image of Selka, the children and every innocent down there shot through his mind.

 _"I…can't let it do that…"_

Gritting his teeth, the Kirito forced himself to ignore the searing pain filling his body as he tried to pull himself up.

As he had known, it was useless. He wasn't strong enough and the pain was too intense for him to manage 'climbing' up the massive bird. And even if he could, what would that even accompl…?

The massive bird violently spun on the air, just as they flew over the forests surrounding Rulid. Finally finding the strength to scream, the black-haired boy felt the world spin around him in every direction as he saw heaven and earth change places in his vision several times…before he painfully landed on a feather-covered back, his hands instinctively gripping the jet-black plumage.

Tears stinging from his eyes, the gamer glared forward and dragged himself like a possessed, half-crawling/half-rushing towards the creature's head. He was forced to stop, though, upon arriving at the massive neck, realizing that if he tried to keep going he would without a doubt lose his balance and fall.

Cursing to everything under the sky, Kirito looked down towards the body of Giant Crow, idly wondering for a moment what would happen if he 'died' in this world.

His life certainly couldn't be in any danger, despite the extremely realistic sensations and even pain. Maybe he would 'respawn' somewhere? Or maybe he would immediately wake up and get out of the Soult Translator, free from this crazy world where Kikuoka had clearly gone too far 'playing God' and using the concepts from a series that _shouldn't_ have been mixed with a reality filled with actual people. In the worst-case scenario, he would maybe end up 'trapped' in his own corpse on this world, until whatever had happened in reality for the government agent to put him inside the STL was over and he was taken out. A bit traumatic, but nothing he couldn't deal with.

…except that he couldn't do that. He couldn't allow himself to die. Not only because that would mean he had given up, but also because then the people of Rulid would be doomed.

His own inability to do anything against the impossible monster didn't matter, what did was that he seemed to be only one actively _willing_ to do something. As if the average people within that world were unable to even muster the intent to fight against adversity.

It was a chilling thought…but it didn't make them any less deserving to be saved. They were still humans. People, not just a very advanced experiment.

Selka's fears about her own 'abnormality' from yesterday were a clear proof of that.

 _"I need to…stop this thing…"_

Shakily, the boy forced himself up, half-kneeling on Giant Crow's body, vaguely realizing that, if the monstrous bird did another stunt like before, he would fall to his death for sure.

He was just a normal teenager here. He had no power to stop a Disaster Level-Demon Mysterious Being. He had no superpowers, no magic, no weapons. Nothing.

Except for his bare fists.

"Strength…who gives a shit about that?"

Slowly, the boy raised his arm over his head, glaring down at the massive beast…

"I'm going to save them…I'm going to survive…and then I'm going to get back to my friends…my family!"

…and so, he reared back his fist…

"So, even if I have to break my goddamn fists punching you…I'm taking you down! You hear me, you oversized dove?!"

…and, with a roar, he _punched._

But in that moment, that second, that fleeting instant when his fist started to descend…something that could only happen and be truly felt in that bizarre world created by Seijirou Kikuoka's distorted vision happened.

For the first time ever, in a way that would change countless lives forever…Kirigaya Kazuto felt his **Will**.

Warmth. Beautiful. Limitless.

The image of his friends…his family, smiling at him, laughing with him, was the fuel behind it.

Asuna. Suguha. Argo. Lisbeth. Silica. Philia. Strea. Yui. Sachi. Sasamaru. Tetsuo. Ducker. Keita. Sinon.

His reasons to fight. His reasons to live.

In answer to his determination…the secret System that existed within the 'Underworld' was triggered with a force mightier than it had ever before.

The **Will** was acknowledged.

Imagination took shape.

The World was _Overwritten_.

And for a single instant, all of Incarnated into the Reality where Kirito's fist descended…and the Chains' hold loosened a minuscule fraction.

During that instant, the tip of his knuckles and his closed fist started to be covered in a familiar white glove…

But then, the fleeting instant was over, the white fabric vanished into shards of light when the boy's fist was a couple inches from making contact, the World reasserting itself as the **Chains** tightened once again.

The half-formed shockwave that the half-swung PUNCH created, however, _didn't_ , and it crashed against Giant Crow's neck with a thunder-like roar.

All across the Underworld, all the way to the Dark Territory's most distant edges, the sound of the Mysterious Being's neck and head snapping downward with brutal violence seemed to echo.

In a castle of black obsidian, several gazes (Humans and not) shot towards the west.

On the depths of the Human World's forests, a massive creature stirred for a moment, before falling asleep once again.

Deep under a lake, a green-skinned being wearing a crown looked towards the surface.

Hidden within the dead husk of a tree, two fugitives, one looking sick and the other fearful, looked around, startled.

In a building filled with people helping each other, the rider's attention was drawn towards the north, her loyal partner doing the same.

Under the center of the world, a librarian's ancient gaze narrowed, her small hands closing around her oversized staff.

Atop the white tower that governed the world, the Ruler's eyes _opened_.

And at the edge of Reality, [DESTINY] made the Omniversal equivalent of a tiny smile, seeing how the entire 'board' shook for an instant before the Chains reasserted themselves.

It was a minuscule step, yes…but one in the right direction.

Ignorant of all this, Kirito stared in amazement at what he had done…for the half second before the now blind-flying beast brutally crashed against the only thing big and powerful enough in thousands of kilometers (Besides the Mountain Range itself) it would have been able to do so.

Given that, unknown to him, Fate was against it and his Destiny had been sealed, it was a wonder how he had the luck to accidentally have made Giant Crow slam against the Gigas Cedar, but sadly he didn't really have the time or the mind to process any of that, for in that moment inertia and gravity remembered his existence and he was flung forward even as the rest of Giant Crow's body 'folded' faster than he 'flew', the monster's massive left wing slamming against the black tree and breaking in a terribly painful-looking way.

Ironically, though, this saved the boy's life as he slammed against the Mysterious Being's massive feathers instead of the cedar's trunk, which would have killed him instantly, reducing the accident from 'lethal' to just 'horribly painful'.

For a single moment, as the whole body of the titanic bird slammed against the centuries-old tree, several of its roots being all but torn from the earth as it slightly tilted backward, the world seemed to hold its breath as both impossible entities Lives and power 'clashed'.

The Gigas Cedar won, and as such it was Giant Crow who got to fall the 20 or so meters towards the ground, its massive bulk making the earth shake through the entire Rulid area and many black leaves to fall upon it like rain.

Grunting, screaming and groaning, the minuscule in comparison figure of a certain gamer rolled down from it, finally stopping several meters away over the cold grass, his scratch-filled face staring towards the sky despite his closed eyes.

He hurt all over, breathing seemed like the biggest effort he had ever done, he couldn't feel his right hand and he was pretty sure another of his ribs broke, not to mention the blood that he could taste in his lips and through the tears filling his nigh-ruined clothes…but he had done it.

He had killed the absurdly broken monster without any superpowers and survived.

Ignoring the agonic pain it caused him, Kirito laughed like he hadn't done since he had memory, the weird mix of joy, hysteria, and pride making his very soul tingle.

 _"Did you see that, everyone? Even something like this…won't stop me from doing the right thing and still go back to you a…"_

An inhuman growl stopped the boy's laugh cold, his gaze snapping to the side to behold the horrible and impossible sight of Giant Crow's head, one of its eyes smashed into a pulp, slowly moving towards him, the Disaster Level-Demon monster seemingly ready to kill him before dying himself, a beak filled with sharp and bloody teeth opening weakly, ready to tear the defenseless gamer apart…

"Not today."

…and then the sound of something cutting through the air muted everything else for Kirito, the sight of an axe flying like a tomahawk and cleaving through the bird's skull leaving him dumbfounded.

For an instant, Giant Crow froze as what remained of his soul tried to understand where the axe lodged in his brain had come from. Then, its Life reached 0 and it simply fell down to the side, dead, its Fluctlight being mercilessly deleted from the World.

Slowly, the black-haired boy looked towards the edge of the forest that surrounded the Gigas Cedar's clearing, just in time to see his savior exit his throwing pose, their gazes meeting.

Shocked dark eyes met ice-cold emerald one. Time itself seemed to stop for a second.

On the 'board' of Reality, the raven-like pawn vanished, slain, the Black-White King no longer in check, having been saved by the one who would become his most loyal companion.

Back in the Gigas Cedar's shadow, though, the unknown boy finally spoke, a mix of awe and disbelief in his tone as he regarded the gamer with neutral eyes.

"That…was the stupidest and most foolish thing I have ever seen and also, I'm pretty sure, that the world has ever seen." as he said those words, the stranger walked closer to the fallen hero, still looking at him as if he was mad. "Why would you even do that? Why are you so eager to die?"

Kirito, for his part, was just marginally listening to his words, too busy taking in the 'unusual' appearance the boy, who looked around his age, had.

His flaxen-colored hair and green eyes were probably the most normal feature he had and, like everyone he had seen since arriving to that world, he didn't have any specific Western or Eastern racial features.

However…his skin was pale. Unnaturally so, to such degree he should have been sick to the point of dying, yet not only he stood strong, he also had apparently no problems to throw an axe, clearly meant to be used with two hands, hard enough to kill Giant Crow. There was also the fact that his clothes looked bizarre, his gray pants seeming a size too big for him (Secured by what seemed like 2 child-sized belts put together to make a bigger one), with the cuffs having been torn apart enough to not difficult his movement, leaving small, if irregular, parts of his legs exposed near his worn-down boots. On the other hand, his shirt seemed a size too big, probably having been cream-colored at one point, but now so worn-down it could barely be seen, and the dark long coat he wore over it seemed to have been torn and stitched together so many times it shouldn't be a single piece of clothing anymore.

But what truly drew the black-haired boy's attention was what he was still holding tightly on his left hand: A beautiful sword like none he had ever seen, even Liz's most precious creations (As much as it pained to accept such about his dear blacksmith/girlfriend) not reaching the sheer beauty of its ice-color and rose-like motifs.

"Who…?" started to ask the gamer before stiffening, a loud gasp escaping his body as he felt his entire being _shiver_ from a sudden flux of something filling him. "Wha…?!"

"Huh…don't worry, it should end soon enough. First time usually isn't all that noticeable, even less right away, but…I guess something like THAT thing, especially considering you did most of the work taking it down, should give an insane rise to your Authority."

Kirito didn't know the meaning behind the strange boy's words, just idly having a vague idea of it, but he was too busy feeling _it_ happen to really care.

Suddenly, he felt… _more_. Not in the 'I have suddenly become super-strong!'-way, but more as if his entire existence, the very concept of what made him 'a person of that world' had been 'elevated'. Put into a level above what he was before.

Was this…how 'Leveling Up' a ton of levels would feel like, if such a thing could actually be felt? Not that he could say, of course, given his unique 'circumstances' in all the virtual worlds he had been before, and he was pretty sure none of his friends had ever experienced the strange and overwhelming sensation he was feeling in that moment…

"Just…who the hell are you…?" gasped the black-haired boy while looking at his silent and pale savior.

"Who am I…?" muttered the green-eyed one while looking down at his blade before his gaze moved past the gamer and towards his axe, still embedded in the massive bird's skull. "…I'm no one."

There was no time for Kirito to even question the meaning behind those words, for in that moment a voice he was starting to grow used to was heard screaming his name.

"KIRITO!" shouted Selka as she rushed into the Gigas Cedar's clearing, almost tripping several times because her apprentice's clothes weren't exactly made for running until being left out of breath.

For a second, the young girl let her attention linger on Giant Crow's corpse, before her gaze finally settled on the bloody form of the black-haired boy and she gasped before running towards him with relieved tears in her face, all but throwing herself at him with open arms, making him grunt in agonic pain.

"Gah! Sel…ka…?"

"Thank the Goddess, thank everything…you're alive…you're okay…" whispered the Sacred Arts Apprentice as she sobbed softly. "For a moment, I feared…I thought…that…you…"

All of a sudden, words seemed to fail Selka, deeply confusing the gamer as he saw the girl starting to pale and shake, her eyes wide and fixed upon a single thing.

Following her gaze, Kirito saw how his mysterious savior was staring back, a mix of nostalgia and regret filling the smile he now sported.

"Selka-chan…long time no see."

"N-no…no way…I saw you die…everyone…everyone saw…!"

"…I got better." humorlessly chuckled the pale warrior.

"Selka?! What's wrong?!" demanded the black-haired boy while trying (And failing) to raise his pained and broken body to protect his kinda-friend, now staring warily at the newcomer whose presence seemed to thoroughly terrify the girl.

"Ho-how…how are you here…Eugeo?!" screamed the young apprentice while trying to look brave, actually standing over the downed hero and seeming ready to use herself as a shield.

"Same way someone turned into this thing and flew all the way here to destroy Rulid, or that you can see things _before_ they happen." simply answered the one called Eugeo as he walked towards Giant Crow's corpse, which had started to…'shine'. "Our world has gone mad, Selka. I'm sure you have more than noticed it too by now…everything and everyone is… _changing_."

As he said those last words, the green-eyed boy reached out and let his falling axe return to his grip, idly looking as the Mysterious Being's remains vanished into shards of lights, leaving nothing behind except the marks his crashing caused on the earth surrounding the black tree.

With a chilling revelation, Kirito realized he had just seen what 'death' was like in that world.

Just a brief instant in which whatever you were remained before vanishing forever. No bodies left behind for your loved ones to bury…nothing but their memories to remember you.

"…it's been so long…" muttered Selka while looking down from the dual-wielding (Axe+Sword) warrior towards the silent black-haired boy, biting her lips while she tried to hold back her tears. "After Onee-chan was taken…why? If you survived…why didn't you come back?"

"For the same reason you don't go around saying you can predict the future. I'm different…something that others can't accept, but, sadly, not as easily concealable as you." bitterly answered Eugeo while looking at the sky, as if lost in distant memories. "Even if I could tell my family how I survived a sword through the chest and a fall from over 40 Mels to the cold river without them thinking I'm a monster…I'm a criminal, remember? I tried to stop the Integrity Knight from taking Alice. I even attacked him…violating the very First rule of the Taboo Index. In everyone's eyes, I probably deserved to die that day…"

"Tha-that's not true!" fervently interrupted the young girl while taking a step forward. "I…I never once thought…that…you…ugh…!"

Grunting in pain, Selka's hand shot towards her right eye, a strange throbbing sensation having suddenly assaulted her mind when the thought of saying how the boy hadn't been wrong in betraying the world's law to save her sister appeared on her mind.

"Stop. Don't try to force yourself, or the 'Seal' will act up…and believe me, you _don't_ want that to happen." warned Eugeo with a deadly serious tone, making the young girl freeze. "Even those of us who have even our Stacia Windows different from everyone else's are still under the watchful eyes of the Axiom Church. Don't give them a reason to come for you like they did for Alice…also, I think your crazy friend could _really_ use some healing before he ends up dead."

Squeaking in shock, the Sacred Arts apprentice spun around towards the sheepish-looking Kirito, who had been trying to piece together what he could of their conversation despite the pain, and didn't even bother trying to apologize before quickly kneeling at his side and chanting for Healing Sacred Arts as fast as she could, embarrassed tears in her eyes.

The black-haired boy raised an eyebrow, even as he felt some of his pain fade, at noticing that, effectively, the 'Sacred Tongue' of these arts was _English_.

Native language Japanese, Sacred Tongue English…Kikuoka really had no imagination, did he?

"Ki-Kirito, I'm so-sorry! Ju-just, take a deep breath, okay? I-I'm not good enough with my Arts to fully heal you, but Sister Azariya will be able to!" quickly spoke Selka while finishing closing most of the boy's superficial wounds before helping him back to his feet. "E-Eugeo, please, help me take him back to the…!"

"Selka…" called the gamer with a tense tone, his gaze having moved from the young girl back to the clearing. "He's gone."

A quick look was more than enough for the apprentice to see the truth of his words, but hearing a small groan of pain was more than enough for her to swallow her confusion and bit her lips as she helped the wounded hero back to the village.

Watching them in silence from atop one of the many trees surrounding the cedar's clearing, the one called Eugeo mused in silence, lost in his memories.

Memories of happier times, with a young girl of golden hair, eyes the color of the sky and a smile that illuminated the world. Of helping her take care of the tea-haired girl walking away with that strange boy, and…and…no one…else…

Shaking his head to dispel the strange last line of thought, the teen sheathed his blade back on his side and slung the _growling_ white axe on his back. Then, after a second of hesitation, he made a familiar symbol in the air and let the Window that reflected his very existence appear.

For a moment, his eyes stopped over the extra line of text written in the Sacred Tongue that no 'normal' person would have, before they once again moved towards the impossibility that always shook his soul to see, no matter how used he was to it.

 **'** Life: **0** /156931 **'**

Without a sound, the green-eyed boy closed his Stacia Window, before looking towards the sky and starting to walk deeper into the woods.

He could go for a long walk through the forests before returning to the cave…

* * *

Kirito wasn't sure what to expect from Rulid Village when Selka finally managed to drag him close enough to see the buildings themselves, but, despite his previous experiences, seeing people rushing out to help him and Selka while many cried thanks and others cheered until losing their voice certainly wasn't it.

Maybe because he was used to not be feeling like he was just broken in many pieces several times after he managed to 'save' the day. But even so, when the children of the church managed to rush between the people surrounding him and trap him in a collective hug, he didn't even care about the pain or how Selka was trying to get them off him saying how he needed to see Sister Azariya right away.

All that filled him was a sense of accomplishment and a warm happiness. Their teary smiles and their gratefulness made the black-haired boy feel that everything had been worth it.

True, no one had actually seen what he had exactly done to get Giant Crow to crash against the Gigas Cedar, but they were all ecstatic that he had managed the impossible and saved them all. He was the Hero of Rulid now.

And that night, as he was resting in his room on the church and staring at his right hand, he idly wondered now only _how_ had managed that seemingly impossible feat back there, when now his healed body and fist, no matter how much he closed it, felt as simple and normal as always, the sensation of having 'gained a ton of Authority' aside.

The mysteries of that peculiar world swam through his head. The 'Blessings', the strange reactions of its inhabitants, the feeling of something looming over everything…

But most of all, the unexplainable certainty that finding the answers would help him find a way back home.

After all, standing around and just hoping Kikuoka pulled him out was definitively not his style, especially when he was still not sure of how exactly he had ended in his current situation. Therefore…

"…that Eugeo guy. He looked as if he knew a lot of things most people don't." muttered the gamer while closing his eyes and sitting up, before looking down at the plain clothes he was now wearing as 'his' were being repaired by Selka (She truly was a sweet girl). "…okay then, let's go find him."

Standing up while idly realizing that his bad habit of talking alone seemed to come back full force every time he was separated from his family for too long, Kirito quickly and stealthily made his way out of the church and then of the village without any problem.

It wasn't particularly difficult, really, seeing as not only everyone seemed to expect everyone else to respect the time in which one shouldn't be out in the fields anymore, even the city's guard had gone home slightly earlier than usual because of the madness that took place before.

In silence, keenly aware of the forest's sounds around him, the black-haired boy arrived at the Gigas Cedar, stopping for a moment to look towards the massive black tree, admiring how much more ominous yet impressive it looked under the moonlight.

He also wondered why he felt the strange need to punch the thing until it fell down, but quickly dispelled the silly notion with a deep breath.

Then, he let his perception of the World around him sharpen beyond all human limits and felt it slow down in his eyes. With barely a thought, he tilted his head to the side with the calm practice of someone who had been forced to know his 'limitations' in the real world and now accepted they were also present in this virtual one.

It wasn't anything impressive, especially when compared to what he could usually do as 'Kirito', but it was more than enough for the sharp and beautiful blade to soar past his face without touching him and impale itself on the black tree's bark with a whistling sound. As he turned around with his best 'Saitama face' on, the boy also noticed how the weapon was never intended to actually harm him, but he preferred not having to deal with the typical 'small cut on the cheek to show how dangerous I am' cliché.

"Now that was just rude." calmly commented the gamer with his now emotionless face, internally smirking at the surprised look on the green-eyed boy's face. "I just wanted to have a civilized conversation with you, after all."

"…let me throw your earlier question back: Who are you?" questioned Eugeo while tightening the grip on his axe, which, Kirito could swear, was growling from time to time. "That thing you did before…I thought it was a 'Blessing', but it doesn't fit. If you had been able to do something like that since the beginning then that creature wouldn't have been to give you so much trouble, not to mention you wouldn't have done so in a way that almost killed you…"

"I'm a person from another world that's beyond the stars and I have no idea how I ended here." answered Kirito with a completely straight face, making the green-eyed boy freeze. "As for how I did that before, I'm afraid I'm not sure, except that it seemed like a temporary reflection of certain…let's say, 'abilities' that I have access to under specific circumstances back where I come from."

"…what?" was all that the shocked teen could say, fully lowering his axe.

"Exactly what you heard. I…really need to go back home. My friends…my family must be worried sick about me, and I sure as hell want to go back to them, but I have no idea about this world beyond what I have been told in Rulid, mostly by Selka…but it's clear there is much more to this world than that." continued the gamer while ignoring the other's bewilderment. "And seeing how you seemingly know more about these dark and abnormal secrets than anyone I have met in this entire region is even willing to think about, besides Selka to some degree…"

"…heh…hah…ahahahahahah!" laughed Eugeo after a few seconds of silence, almost letting go of his now silent weapon as he all but doubled over from the laughter, Kirito feeling how a smile of his own broke his Saitama-face, for some reason. "Oh, Gods above…you're being serious, aren't you?"

"Do I look like I am joking?" asked the black-haired boy with a small smirk, wondering why he felt so…at ease with this strange dual wielder.

"…fair enough." was all that the green-eyed teen said before casually raising his hand and, to the gamer's surprise, have his sword fly out of the Gigas Cedar and back to his hand, catching it with casual easiness. "And I think that, given the madness filling this world of mine, what you did is probably not that strange."

"…did you just use psychic powers? Or maybe…The Force?"

"…the what?"

"Fo-forget it, just me being silly for a moment…" sighed Kirito while shaking his head. "Really, though…how did you do that?"

"By concentrating very hard." smirked the dual wielder while putting his axe back on the strap of his back.

"…I was being serious this time, you know?"

"No, no, I'm not joking, believe it or not!" quickly reassured Eugeo while looking to the side, sighing himself before looking back straight into the black-haired boy's eyes. "I can't boast of being a master of it or understanding how it works, but…let's just say there is a 'power' beyond the Curses or Blessings of the Gods, one different from the Sacred Arts too. One that _anyone_ can use, as long as they have a strong willpower and a firm…belief, for lack of a better term."

"So…like a prayer or something like that?" theorized the gamer while frowning, looking down at his fist with a sudden suspicion.

"Not exactly. More like…a determination, I guess? The strong belief not in the Gods, but that you CAN do something. Be it something that you usually do with more strength or ability than usual…or something that shouldn't be possible at all."

"Like having your sword fly back to you through the air with just a thought?" muttered Kirito while closing his eyes.

"Yes. I have seen very few use it like that, though, mostly unconsciously making their attacks stronger or becoming able to escape when they shouldn't be able to. As far as I know, the more 'impossible' something is, the more effort it takes for your 'wish' to make it into Reality. Like cutting down an enemy you shouldn't be able to or…"

"Beating anyone with One Punch, no matter how strong they are." whispered the black-haired boy with a sudden epiphany, his eyes shooting open while looking down at his hands again. _"Can it really be that simple…?"_

"Uhm…yeah, I guess? Though that seems a bit unbelievable, even for this place, if you ask me…"

"Well, in my world we don't have 20 meters-wide (Uhm, you call them 'Mels' here, right?) crows that randomly attack cities, so I guess we're even." chuckled the gamer with a small shake, getting the green-eyed boy to laugh back. "Though I got to say…you're being way more open about this than I thought. In my experience, the silent mysterious types like you aren't as friendly at first, especially with me…"

Of course, Philia could count as a big exception, but it had taken quite some time for her to change, not exactly something that happened in 5 minutes like with the pale teen…

"Yeah…now that you say it…I don't know why, but…I feel as if I can trust you. As if…"

 _A green-eyed kid complained about the heat while swinging the axe against the black tree, a black and formless shadow doing push-ups beside him…_

"…I had known you for a long time. Must be because you're from another world, as everyone from here puts me on edge since I was eleven…"

"You mean back when you di…?" Kirito abruptly closed his mouth, realizing he had talked more than he should. "I…sorry, I shouldn't have brought up…"

"When I 'died', right? Don't worry, I don't mind, and you're right. Besides, I kind of suspected Selka-chan would have already told you about me, if not before then right after what happened earlier for sure. She seems to really trust you too, for some reason." calmly replied Eugeo while taking a few steps to the side, looking down at the bluish blade still held in his left hand with a sad smile. "I bet you're wondering about it too, right? What makes me 'different', like Selka-chan. What could possibly drive an 11-years-old boy to hide alone on his own after surviving what should have been a sure death, instead of trying to go back to his family in fright, no matter how big of a crime he committed…"

"I…I don't really…" tried to stop him the black-haired boy, before stopping when the green-eyed teen turned to look at him, with a hollow smile and glint in his eyes that sent shivers down his back.

Those eyes…he had seen similar ones before, though much worse and deeper in those cases. In Red-Eyed Xaxa. In Equinox.

The eyes of someone who felt their lives didn't matter when compared to the single purpose that drove them.

"Well, why don't you let me show you?" spoke Eugeo while raising his blade, the gamer tensing more than before as his instincts screamed at him to stop the other boy. "Don't blink, though, or you may miss it."

And then, unceremoniously, the pale teen gripped the sword with both hands and stabbed himself through the heart.

* * *

Tossing around in her bed for the umpteenth time that night, Selka Zuberg resigned herself to the fact that she definitively wasn't going to get any sleep anytime soon, so she got out of her bed and stared silently through her window, towards the half-hidden form of Lunaria.

For a moment, she entertained the thought of going to Kirito's room and check if he was fully recovered from his earlier ordeal, before shaking her head and blushing furiously at the idea.

That boy…she just knew he was the answer she had been looking for, the one the Goddess of the Moon had sent her way to fulfill whatever Destiny was expected of her, but at the same time…that haunting sense of trust and familiarity she got every time she talked with him refused to leave her.

That's why she had decided that helping him get back to his world would take priority for her over trying to discover what he was supposed to mean for her Destiny. No matter what it took, she would find a way to help him get back to his family, for she knew very well how it felt to have someone you loved dearly be taken someplace you couldn't hope to reach them.

…at least that's what she had thought before what happened that morning. Seeing him put his life at risk against something as unbelievably terrifying, hopelessly out of his reach, for the sake of people he hadn't known for even a full day, and, despite the impossible odds…succeeding.

Hero. There was no other way to describe him. Even seeing Eugeo impossibly alive couldn't compare to what she, and probably most of the village, had felt when they saw the massive monster crash against the Gigas Cedar and fall to its death.

Compared to that…what could she hope to do that could even come close? What usefulness in getting back home could someone like her have for someone like him?

 _"There is one single thing."_

Biting her lips at the traitorous thought, the young girl's gaze moved towards the cloth-covered form resting on her table, as innocent as always, despite the 'power' of the object it held within.

Well…that was not entirely true. After all, for anyone else besides her, the Crystal Ball would be just…that. A piece of crystal somehow crafted into a perfect sphere, for no apparent reason.

No reason beyond letting her use her 'Blessing' to its utmost potential, at least.

That, the power to 'See the Future', was the only thing Selka Zuberg had that no one else possessed, and that could potentially help Kirito to get back home. Certainly, she hadn't been able to make proper sense of the extremely vivid visions she had last night when using it, not to mention she hadn't been able to talk with Kirito about them earlier because of the day's events, but now she felt that, with the correct focus, she could see something more specific, perhaps along the lines of what she truly needed to know.

It was strange, how easy theories and ideas about how to control her Blessing came to her, despite having spent most of her conscious life trying to keep it hidden, contained, away from her mind…

Ignoring the vaguely familiar pulsation she felt on her right eye for a moment, the Sacred Arts apprentice stood up, walking towards her table with a sense of purpose and uncovering the simple yet strangely unnatural form of the crystal ball.

For a single moment, she hesitated, remembering the backlash of her previous attempt, not to mention the fact that this time there was no one with her to help in case something went wrong, but…

 _"…Onee-chan wouldn't be scared."_

Using that single thought as a driving force, Selka cast her hesitations aside and put her hands over the sphere of glass, staring into its depths with a single question filling her mind.

"How can I get Kirito back home?"

For a moment, nothing but her faint reflection stared back.

And then…

 _The sky burning, almighty Chains holding Everything prisoner…_

 _The World turning against itself, monsters and men fighting against each other and among themselves, nothing but who they served mattering…_

 _6 pillars of light, wielding the name of 'Heroes' rising among the Chaos, ready to oppose it all despite the World itself rejecting all of them…_

 _Knights clad in armors of lies facing them, under the guidance of their Immortal Puppetmaster…_

 _A caped figure made of white and black emptiness and golden voids with eyes holding a helpless boy by the throat, squeezing the life out of him…_

 _A crying girl praying. A golden knight screaming for the truth. An ancient child without hope. A rider of justice who forgot herself. A boy wishing for death. Two lost souls wishing for someone to guide them…_

 _…the cave at the North, connecting to the Dark Territory. Whispers and forgotten memories filling it, and…and…!_

 ** _Your answer awaits you there. Now._**

Gasping for breath, the young girl's eyes shot open as she fell on her ass, hands shooting to her chest as she tried to take as much air back into her lungs as she could, idly aware of how feverish she suddenly felt. Even so…

"The Northern Cave. I…I have to go…" whispered the apprentice while shakily standing up.

Trying to interpret and understand the other things she had seen could come later. Right now, she had to get to the cave, in that very moment, if she wished to know how to help Kirito get back home.

Selka didn't even think about going to warm the black-haired boy, or tell him to come with her, reasoning that he would still be exhausted from earlier and that this was just something quick she would be done with very soon.

She also didn't question how easy it was for her to put on her casual clothes, sneak out of the church and then the village, without a second thought for how late it was or what her family or Sister Azariya would think. Something that she would have never even been able to entertain as a thought before.

As if her Destiny was to be there tonight. As if Fate itself was guiding her to the Northern Cave.

Only when she was already deep within the blackened and cold cavern, only a small Luminous Element called forth by Sacred Arts illuminated her path, did the young girl stop to think about what she was doing, shivering from both the cold and the sinister aura the place gave.

She was almost starting to feel that maybe she should return and then come back in the morning, maybe with Kirito accompanying her…when an unexpected whisper made her very soul freeze.

 _'…shouldn't be here…'_

"Wha…? Onee-chan?!" shouted the Sacred Arts apprentice while looking around, desperately searching from the source of the familiar whisper. "Is that you, Alice-neechan?!"

Desperation and Hope fighting within her heart, Selka rushed faster into the cave, the cold water at one side, the icy surface of the ceiling, the strangely reflective rock of the walls…

All of it seemed to be stimulating her Blessing. She almost felt she could see shadows and glimpses everywhere, and that stopping for a moment would let her see things. Things none should know, things she would be better off not knowing, and even things that many would do _anything_ to know.

She didn't stop for any of them, even ignoring the vision of what seemed an archer dressed strangely holding back a massive and wicked cleaver with her bow, which was quickly cracking, as she turned a corner and was forced to look deep into a wall for a moment.

 _'…no…Selka…stay back…'_

"I-I'm coming, Onee-chan!" shouted the apprentice with tears in her eyes, the original reason she had gone there for completely forgotten, nothing but seeing her sister again now filling her mind. "I am…!"

The moment she entered a bigger part of the cave, however, her voice died in her throat and a knot of fear filled her entire self.

It was not because of the frozen lake with the strangely perfect and almost-circular expanse on its center, as if something massive had once been there, no.

It was because of the small and wild-looking 'camp' that had been set there, even a small fire having been lit on its center, probably to keep the green-skinned creatures that surrounded it warm from the cavern's cold.

A dozen of yellowish eyes immediately was fixed on the paralyzed Selka, the humanoid creatures with primitive-looking swords (More like knives? Machetes?) and only tribal-looking clothing seeming both surprised and curious.

"Humie…"

"A humie!"

"Little humie girl! What is it doing here?"

"Cold and hungry….little humie looks delicious…"

Then, the most menacing-looking of the creatures (Goblins, one of the demon races from the Dark Territory, a part of the girl's mind thought) stood up.

If the fact that he wore scale mail armor and was twice as large as the others (All heavy muscles) didn't make clear enough that he was in charge, then the _wrongness_ his appearance caused would have made it so.

His face was strangely deformed, his eyes abnormally large and a reptilian-like tail coming from his lower back, not to mention the unnaturally massive lips he possessed.

That feeling he gave off….Selka had felt it before, earlier that very same day, from the abomination Kirito called 'Giant Crow', even if the scale this goblin had was laughable in comparison, yet still being enough for a little girl like her to feel nothing but terror.

It was the feeling of something that didn't belong, even among its peers. Of someone who had received something from the Gods that made it different, just like her 'Divine Blessing' did to her.

A 'Divine Curse'.

"Capture the humie." the lizard-like goblin grinned.

Not even bothering to scream, Selka spun around throwing the Luminous Element in her hand behind her in the hopes of blinding the creatures, feeling hope when she heard many of the goblins screaming in surprise…

…which was quickly crushed as she felt _something_ long and repulsive coil around her with unnatural speed, dragging her back through the air and slamming her against the icy surface, the scream of pain escaping her barely being loud because of how the air was driven out of her lungs.

With teary eyes, she watched in horror as the THING waved through the air before slowly retracting, and she realized that it was a _tongue_.

A monstrously long and strong-looking elongated tongue, which had come out from the leader of the goblins.

"Foolish humie girl! You can't escape from the great Ugachi-sama! I, Lizard Killer, killed so many the Dark God gave me the power of one of them!" laughed the chameleon-like creature as her henchmen surrounding and restraining Selka, who looked at him with a mix of fear and revulsion. "Now then…what to do with you…?"

And as she tried to hold back her tears and think of anything she could do to get out of the terrible situation she suddenly found herself in, Selka Zuberg didn't realize the whisper she heard before seemed to have vanished.

Within the depths of the Nothingness, the now unheard voice wept and prayed…

 _'Please…save her, you two…'_

* * *

Kirito didn't realize he had screamed and raised a hand in utter terror until he was already about to take a step forward, shocked at the sudden intensity of his emotion.

Certainly, seeing someone stab themselves out of the blue wasn't something he would ever have expected or reacted positively to, but the boy sure as hell would have expected to feel more horror than anything else.

But the moment the green-eyed teen before him had done so, he had felt nothing but horror, regret, and anger filling his very soul. As if the mere thought of the boy he hadn't known for even a couple hours affected him as much as if it could happen to any of his closest friends…and more.

As if the idea of him dying was something he regretted from the depths of his soul.

However, he didn't really have any time to dwell on those feelings…because he was quickly left dumbfounded as he STARED at the impossibility before him.

Blood dripped through the beautiful blue blade, some even falling to the ground…and yet, Eugeo still stood perfectly upright, the smile on his face seeming unnaturally wrong with the sword piercing both his heart and one of his lungs, sticking all the way through his back.

Then, the dual wielder laughed at the gamer's gobsmacked expression as he casually pulled the weapon out of his body, before grimacing at the blood and the hole in his shirt.

"Damn…should have thought that a bit better. I mean, the look on your face was great, but now I'm going to have to steal another shirt or go around with this mess for quite a while…" lamented the green-eyed teen while swiping his sword to the side, letting the blood shoot away from its blade, staining the grass. "So…do you see now, Kirito?"

Wide-eyed, Kirito SAW. The hole going through the other boy's flesh…and how it was knitting itself back together, at an alarmingly fast rate, creating sinisterly fleshy sounds, until nothing but unblemished pale skin, if still stained by blood, remained, with the strange teen seeming not the worse for wear despite having suffered a lethal wound through 2 of his major organs.

"That's…impossible…but…unless…" spluttered the black-haired boy as another creeping realization filled his mind.

"Well…tell that to the Goddesses. During the last years, I have seen many strange and wicked 'Curses', most as repulsive or scary as the ones wielding them…" started Eugeo while making a symbol in the air and opening his Stacia Window, before quickly spinning it around so that the flabbergasted gamer could see it. "And yet, none of them has ever felt more wrong and unnatural than my so-called 'Blessing'…"

Kirito barely paid attention to his words, as his eyes were glued to the small Window, which he personally knew as a virtual screen.

The fact that it had a pure-white color unlike what he had heart was everyone else's color didn't catch his attention, nor the abnormally large levels of 'Authority' the green-eyed teen apparently possessed. And, something that would have shocked Eugeo if he knew it, the utterly wrong '0' in his Life didn't either.

All he had eyes for were the 3 lines of text, written in Sacred Tongue (Or English, for him), that he was sure no 'normal' Stacia Window possessed.

 **Divine Blessing.**

 **Rank S**

"Number 8." he mentally mumbled, still filled with shock as he looked at the last word.

 **ZOMBIEMAN**

* * *

 **…**

 **…STARTING…**

 **…OPENING REPORT LOG.**

 **The Threat-Level 'Demon' reported earlier in the day was eliminated through unknown means. The Fluctlight has been deleted and its 'Curse' recovered and returned to the 'Cycle', in wait of a new vessel to activate itself again.**

 **The elimination of such a threat without the intervention of the Integrity Knights is worrying. The Anomaly being present in the area has been…** _01101110 01101111_ **…determined to not have anything to do with the event. Instead, the identification of a rogue Fluctlight believed deceased has been acknowledged in the area, in possession of a rare Blessing. Reporting the following findings:**

 _-Fluctlight #100523: 'Eugeo' (Native of Rulid Village)_

 _-Divine Blessing: ZOMBIEMAN (Rank S). Permanently 'binds' the Fluctlight to its body despite its 'Current Life' being stuck at 0, making them effectively immortal. Grants unnatural regeneration of the whole body. Nothing except the major destruction of several vital organs will make the body or consciousness to cease their functions, and even then the regeneration will still restore it fully. Nothing short of turning the whole body into something akin to 'mincemeat' or complete disintegration can overcome its innate regeneration. Also allows for impressive feats of strength and speed regardless of the Fluctlights' personal Authority thanks to the 'Zombie' body allowing him to ignore the human body's normal limitations to prevent self-destruction, which coupled with its regeneration make it into a fearsome force. Pain is all but removed, but still present._

 _Threat Level to the Underworld_ _: S (Mid-High)_

 _-Status: The body apparently continues aging because of the Fluctlight's human perception of the World directly affecting it through subconscious Incarnation despite its current 'undead' state. This could cause even deeper emotional problems than the current ones detected down the line. Also, the Fluctlight presents an abnormal psychological state, probably directly caused by the incident that triggered its Blessing's awakening. Self-Destructive tendencies expected._

 **Fluctlight is suspected to be the reason behind the lack of any reports of attempted raids from the Dark Territory in the Northern Cave area for the last years. Its Authority Levels are unknown but theorized to be abnormally high. Destruction or capture of the Fluctlight is recommended. The S-Rank Blessings are extremely valuable and can't be allowed to exist…** _01110011 01110100 01101111 01110000 00100000 01101101 01100101_ **…outside the Axiom Church's control. Soliciting sending Integrity Knights to deal with it as soon as possible.**

 **END OF REPORT LOG.**

 **SENDING TO ADMINISTRATOR…**

 **…ADMINISTRATOR AVAILABLE.**

 **WAITING FOR DIRECT ORDERS…**

…

…

…h…u…r…r…y…p…l…e…a…s…e…

* * *

 _Next…_

 **Truths unveiled…**

 _Eugeo: Wait…do you mean that…someone from YOUR world may be…guilty of this one going mad?_

 _The black-haired boy's eyes looked at the heavens with anger._

 _Kirito: I fear so. And if that's true, I'm going to punch their teeth out when I get back._

 _Eugeo:…get in line._

 **Danger waiting…**

 _Kirito: What do you mean Selka is gone?!_

 _Azariya: Whe-when I went to her room this morning, she wasn't there…_

 **Guilt guiding…**

 _Eugeo: I can't forgive myself…I was too weak to help her. I won't fail her little sister too._

 _With a grim look, the gamer nodded towards the sad-looking teen, even as he unfolded what he had brought from the church._

 _Kirito: Then follow me…we're going to get her back home safe._

 _Eugeo: Wait…is that supposed to be…a cape?_

 **And determination to stand against the Darkness, with only 2 human fists…**

 _Eyes narrowed, the powerless Hero glared at the smirking goblin._

 _Kirito: Disaster Level Wolf…Tongue Stretcher._

 _Ugachi: Foolish humie! Prepare to feel Ugachi-sama's wrath!_

 _Kirito: Not on this life…I'm getting Selka back!_

 **Next time on 'One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate':**

 **Chapter 3: The Beginning of a Journey.**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And that's finally done! Hallelujah!

And before anyone starts, yes, I know how much of a massive irony it is having given Eugeo the power to literally "not die when he's killed", no need to throw it on my face XP

That aside, I hope the way in which I'm mixing Alicization, OPM-elements and OPG's own plot is coming together well enough. I have to put a lot of care and scrutiny on every scene to make sure they don't contradict anything and they still fit the setting, while also making and showing how the differences from canon have changed it and the characters. At the very least, I think I made it enjoyable enough, or so I hope OwO

Also, I think many of you will be excited to know that the 'First/Introduction Arc' is ending next chapter, after which we will get the story's first 'Interlude' will take place, showing what has been happening in the real world and with the UHA while Kirito tries to stay alive here in the Underworld. Look forward to that!

For now, though, I leave you with today's Omake! Enjoy, RWBY fans :D!

* * *

 **Omake: Capes and Roses 2**

As he overlooked the Emerald Forest from one of the cliff's surrounding the area where Beacon Academy's 'Initiation Ceremony' was taking place (Far away from the one he knew Ozpin and Goodwitch were doing the same), Kirito couldn't help but wonder at which point of his stupidly long existence he had become able to consider 'Throwing teenagers off a cliff into a forest filled with deadly monsters' as something normal.

The sad answer was that it had probably been back when he was alive, but it had only been the countless millennia as a Heroic Spirit that had allowed him to be fully able to stand back and see such a thing happening instead of stopping it altogether on principle.

Being fair, though, all the prospective students of the 'Hunter Academy' (And he had to suppress a shudder at the memories the word 'Hunter' associated with anyone using 'transforming weapons' brought) seemed to be doing more than fine, from landing without dying (Except that Jaune Arc guy, who had thankfully been saved by a flying spear coming from the Pyrrha Nikos girl, which had somehow not impaled him by a miracle or some hidden power of her) in their crazy Quest to find the 'relics'.

The flawed logic of the 'Partner' system being based on who you first had eye-contact with aside (As Ruby clearly thought when he had seen her ending up partnered with that Weiss girl before he lost sight of them), from his vantage point allowing him a direct view of the 'temple' (More like repurposed ruins, really) where a couple of the most competent students, including Ruby's apparent sister, one grinning Yang Xiao-Long, and that silent bow-wearing girl who was her partner, Blake Belladonna, had already arrived and were clearly waiting for the rest.

The fact that several of those colorful students clearly reminded him or seemed to be blatant references to some fairy tale/historical characters he knew about was blatantly ignored. After all, he had become desensitized to any such things after that time he was summoned in the role of 'Ruler' in that one crazy Holy Grail War in Shirou's Multiverse, with 2 entire Servant Teams pitted against each other (And didn't _that_ bring 'fun' memories in the worst possible way?).

Nothing would ever be weirder than Astolfo the Perfect Crossdresser and Jack the Ripper Loli, after all. Compared to that, one side being taken over by a priest that was also called Shirou and was, in fact, a forgotten Servant trying to 'save' humanity through a crazy use of the Greater Grail was perfectly normal. Though he really wondered what was with him and encountering crazy dark-skinned priests trying to change the entire world, even if Pucci and his Stand had been leagues above Amakusa Shirou…

The Hero's musings about the madness he had experienced during his many Summonings were cut short when his ears picked up a distinct and familiar sound, making him look up and see the massive form of a 'Nevermore' soaring through the air almost above the ruins.

His thoughts about the so-called 'Creatures of Grimm' (And how he really hoped they were just normal world-invading monsters and not something darker like the Hollows, Nobodies and Heartless had turned out to be) weren't what filled Kirito's mind at the sight, though. Nor the bittersweet memories that seeing a 'giant crow' in the sky brought him.

What truly did it was the sight of two familiar figures, one more than the other, hanging from the deadly bird for dear life. And then, for no apparent reasons, how the red one let go of it and fell down from a height and at a speed that would turn any normal human into a bloody mass on impact.

"Heads uuuuup!" screamed Ruby Rose as she fell from the sky like a meteor, under the shocked gazes of her half-sister and her partner…before blinking and finding herself safely in someone's arms, looking up to see a familiar face looking at her with worry. "…Kirito? Is that you?"

"…eh?" blinked the Heroic Spirit in confusion, idly aware of a certain blonde 'knight' flying past them and crashing against a tree just as he landed, the ground cracking as the entire impact bled through his feet and let the red-wearing girl unharmed.

Inwardly, he cursed, having promised himself early that he wouldn't interfere with whatever was happening unless it was a matter of life and death, especially because he just _knew_ that Ozpin guy had cameras all around the forest (And he could really go a Planetary Summoning without a group of very influential and powerful people trying to get rid of him when they were supposed to be centered in helping the last hopes of mankind, as it was a massive annoyance and waste of time…Shinji's world had taught him that). Somehow, though with what little he had seen of the relatively advanced technology of Remnant, that 'how' wasn't really that surprising to consider.

He, fully ignoring the whisper of 'amusement' he could feel coming from his family through his extremely weakened and limited connection with them on the Throne, totally and completely blamed [FATE] for the fact that jumping in to save screaming females as they fell to their apparent death was all but a reflex reaction of his by now.

Fuck that Absolute One.

"…did that guy just jump out of nowhere and grabbed your sister perfectly as she fell from the sky?" asked a blinking Blake to her flabbergasted partner, whose eyes narrowed slightly as she saw the strange boy letting her sister on the ground and apologizing as she casually thanked him. "Also…what the hell is he wearing?"

"Don't make fun of my/his clothes." answered Ruby and Kirito and the same time, one in a defensive tone and the other out of habit, before blinking and looking at each other in surprise, the girl awkwardly laughing in response.

"…talk about synchro…" whatever else the black-haired girl was going to say was interrupted by a happily screaming girl entering the clearing by riding on an Ursa, the imposing Grimm promptly dying, much to her apparent disappointment and the relief of the heavily-breathing boy running after her. "…so, that just happened…"

Shaking his head in amusement, the Heroic Spirit watched as Nora Valkyrie and her 'friend', Lie Ren, got a 'relic' on their own, before looking slightly to the side upon feeling someone stopping beside him and the also amusedly staring Ruby.

"So…care to introduce us, Ruby?" asked Yang with a friendly smile that didn't fool Kirito for even a second.

His own experiences through the eons aside, the feeling of 'Overprotective Older Sibling' was one he was intimately familiar with…though there was also some playful amusement there he wasn't really used to seeing in that mix.

"Uh? How could you not know it right away, Yang?! I was talking to you about him the whole night!" complained the scythe-user while pointing at the Caped Hero's clothes as if it should be obvious. "He's Kirito!"

"…wait, you mean you weren't making all of that up? Your imaginary friend with the 'Superhero costume' _actually_ exists?" questioned blonde girl in shock while looking at the Heroic Spirit up and down, ignoring her sister's _'You thought I was making it up?!'_ -shouts. "Man…sorry about that, I just didn't think what my sister here was saying about someone showing up to help her stop that criminal and then vanished without a trace was anything beyond her hyperactive imagination acting up…even less when said someone apparently rejected a place at Beacon…"

"Or actually dresses like that in public." commented Blake before blinking in confusion while Jaune entered the clearing assuring everyone he was okay. "Wait, if you rejected getting into the school, why are you…?"

Once again, the totally human girl was interrupted by another surprising sight: That of Pyrrha Nikos rushing into the clearing followed by an angry-looking Death Stalker, her partner screaming her name as if just remembered he had 'left' the girl being chased by a giant killer scorpion.

Kirito would have pondered about that a bit more, if the screaming voice of Weiss Schnee hadn't reached everyone's ears at that moment, making them look up to see the heiress of the most powerful company on Remnant had finally let go of the Nevermore and was falling towards them.

"…Ruby, save your partner." resignedly spoke the caped Hero when it was obvious no one was going to try and do so, the surprised girl looking at him in shock as he held her by the waist and threw her in an angle towards the falling Snow White, ignoring Yang's outrage at the action in favor of watching the suddenly cheering Ruby catching her partner and doing a double spin in the air before landing 'almost' perfectly.

"Yo-you dolt! I can't believe you left me there!" shouted the white-haired girl as 'thanks'.

"We-well, to be fair, I _did_ tell you to jump…" awkwardly commented the scythe-user while standing up and dusting off her 'combat skirt'.

The Heroic Spirit smiled amusedly at the sight, the older girl reminding him of another petite and volatile one, though that one had had pink hair and a penchant for making things explode.

"Uhm, guys…?" muttered Jaune while helping his groaning partner stand up, the massive Grimm that had been stalking (Pun not intended) them roaring as it now rushed towards the entire group, its flying brethren screeching in approval. "I think we have a problem…"

"Grab the relics and go." calmly stated Kirito while pointing out towards the remaining chess pieces (Which brought even more unpleasant memories to his mind), stopping Ruby from charging headfirst towards the incoming scorpion in favor of looking at him. "That's all you need to do if you want to pass the Initiation, right?"

"Bu-but…I wanted to break the Grimm's legs!" whined Nora with a depressed look.

It said a lot about the caped Hero's life that such a declaration didn't even make it to the Top 100 of _'Craziest Things I have ever Heard'_.

"It's actually a pretty solid plan, Nora." opened Ren while sending the Heroic Spirit a grateful look, glad that someone who wasn't him was trying to be the voice of reason.

"I second said plan!" declared Jaune, who had just rushed to get one of said chess pieces, before grabbing Pyrrha's hand and all but dragging her away as fast as his legs could take him, the girl too busy looking down at where he was holding her to even think of resisting.

"You heard the ridiculously dressed boy, dolt! Let's get going!" shouted Weiss after having snatched a 'relic' herself, running after the 2 retreating teens without even waiting for her partner.

She really didn't want anything to do with Grimm for the rest of the day, after what the younger girl had put her through.

"Wa-wait, Weiss! I haven't gotten to show you how awesome I am!" complained Ruby before shooting after the white-haired girl by using her Semblance, turning into a little missile of red petals.

"I also vote for not fighting the giant monsters, if it's the same to you." commented Blake while looking at her conflicted partner with a deadpan look in her golden eyes.

"…man, you're all such party poppers." groaned before running after her sister, her Ninja-like new 'friend' following after her, Nora and Ren quickly following cue while the former shouted something about them not going to 'End Last Place' in the 'race'.

"SO sorry that most of us prefer to not fight massive Grimm when we can just run and still get into…wait, why isn't he running?!" interrupted herself the bow-wearing girl while looking back in shock, everyone stopping in surprise at seeing how Kirito hadn't moved from where he stood earlier, a look of deep contemplation on his face as he looked down with a hand on his chin.

He seemed totally unaware of how the Death Staler had decided to change targets and was now rushing at him at bulldozing speeds.

"Why would they even call it Death Stalker, though? Does that species of scorpion exist here? Hell, do even scorpions exist here? I haven't seen any in the entire forest…and now that I think about it, I haven't seen any of the animals most of these Grimm seem to be based off either…"

"KIRITO!" screamed Ruby when she and everyone realized the mumbling 'boy' wasn't going to move away in time. "WATCH OUT!"

Confused at the shout, the caped Hero looked up, in time to see the scorpion-like monster roar and shoot its stinger forward, more ready to crush him than to impale him with the size/speed it carried.

The reaction was all but instantaneous.

"ORA!" shouted the Heroic Spirit while his fist flew forward, barely even making contact with the incoming stinger before the Death Stalker exploded into black and red gore.

Ruby gaped. Weiss' mouth fell open.

Ren's eyes widened beyond its normal limits. Nora froze at his side.

Blake choked on air. Yang _stared_.

Pyrrha muttered something about 'Impossible' while pointing from the 'boy' to the Grimm. Jaune watched with a mix of shock and utter awe.

On the cliff overlooking the forest, Glynda Goodwitch was looking at the screen of Ozpin's scroll while trying to understand what the fuck had just happened. The headmaster himself had just spit his precious coffee.

And back in the clearing…Kirito blinked several times before looking down at his fist and cursing loudly.

"Damn it! I thought I had finally stopped shouting THAT out loud by instinct…ugh, I know it wasn't his fault, but I'm so blaming Jotaro for that…" complained the Heroic Spirit…before realizing the dumbfounded teens were still STARING at him. "…ehm…you totally didn't just see that."

The lame and clearly fake declaration made, the caped Hero vanishing in a blur of white and black speed. Up in the air, the Nevermore still seemed to be debating if attacking the humans down there was wise or not after what it had just witnessed.

Later that day, Teams RWBY and JNPR were formed. And atop the roof of the particular building of Beacon where he had just heard Ruby Rose being declared leader of her team, Kirito could only sigh in resignation.

"This is going to be one long Summoning…"

* * *

 **Author's Notes 2:** As you can see, I'm trying to keep things in the Omakes as amusing as possible to make up for how serious the main story is right now, at least until shit starts hitting the fan in RWBY's timeline (Same reason why things are barely changing from Canon right now: There is not much Kirito can interfere with on a grand scale, even if he hadn't chosen to take a "Wait and see" approach to things XP). Hope you had fun with it :3!

Until next time, this is Saint, signing off!


	5. Chapter 3: The Beginning of a Journey

Hello again everyone! That was fast, eh?

Seriously, though, even I myself got surprised at how fast I finished this chapter, despite what I said last time. Guess my muse was going full throttle and willing to make up for the previous one's delay XP Also probably because my classes resume soon and I will probably be unable to write much, if anything, during February, I will be doing my practices for most of it, my parents will go overseas and leave me to take care of the house again…and, on a more selfish note, SAO Fatal Bullet will be coming out :P

None of that matters now, though, except that you hopefully enjoy this chapter! With this, we close the first/introductory arc of this story! Have fun people! Also, remember to help out with the TvTropes page if you can, it really needs some work :3

Enjoy!

 **PS:** Thanks again to pikatwins for Betaing the chapter!

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The Beginning of a Journey**

 _The first thing he felt when he came back to his senses was the cold._

 _Horrible soul-eating cold. It made him scream._

 _It was only then that he realized he was underwater, as his throat and lungs were flooded. Wildly, he reached out for the surface, even as apart of him knew it was too late, that the current was too strong, that he was too far away, that he had let too much water into his…_

 _And then, after a literal eternity of being dragged up and down, he was out, out of the river, somewhere down in the forests, coughing, spitting, and all but throwing up liquid as he shivered, feeling as if his very soul was frozen over._

 _The shock of everything that had happened was still numbing his entire self when the young boy started to realize something was 'wrong'. First of all…he was staring at the ground without any problem, with his entire field of vision._

 _…hadn't he just lost an eye minutes (or was that hours) ago? Numbly, he reached out towards his face and, after touching it several times, he realized that, yes, his ocular globe was back, and working perfectly._

 _That made absolutely no sense…and what was that bloody thing sticking out of the side of his chest, now that he thought about it? Had a branch fallen into the river and gotten stuck…on his…shirt…?_

 _Staring dumbly, the green-eyed 'criminal' (Something that his mind was slowly starting to accept) finally realized that what he was seeing was_ actually _the handle of a sword piercing him from side to side._

 _Why was a sword impaled through his body?…oh yeah, that's right, the Integrity Knight. He had been attacked by the Knight when he tried to save Alice together with…_ **by himself** _, yes, that's right, that's when he had fallen from the dragon and into the river…_

 _Alice. He had failed her. He had violated the Taboo Index at the most basic level, attacked an Integrity Knight, essentially forfeiting his life as an inhabitant of the Human Empire…and it still hadn't been enough. And now, he was just going to d…_

 _…why wasn't he dead already, now that he thought about it? In fact…why was he barely feeling the sword when he should be in agonizing pain? Especially when, apparently, he hadn't even realized it was there the whole time he had been fighting against the current…_

 _Slowly letting go of the axe in his hand (Which only now he idly realized he had never let go of, and that it had returned to normal), the young boy gripped the blade and, with noticeable difficulty, extracted it from his body._

 _The sight of blood and of the grievous wound on his body should have affected him to a horrible degree, but be it because of the earlier shock still hadn't worn off or the new one he was experiencing right now, it didn't._

 _Said new shock came from the fact that not only he wasn't feeling the wound as anything but a dull 'hollowness' through his chest…but also because his flesh was knitting itself back together before his very eyes. Even more bizarre, if he concentrated, he could almost feel how his muscles grew again, his ruptured organs intertwined and restored their damaged walls once more, his broken bones mended as if by some sort of divine miracle…_

 _Except that he felt none of the warmth or joy such a thing would bring in the stories he had heard as a child. Only the horrible cold still filling his very soul, and the bitter disappointment of having failed his most important person…Alice._

 _Even as the last vestige of his wounds vanished from his now deadly pale skin (As if the cold he felt had forever tinted it that way), he looked up towards the darkening sky._

 _Tears falling from his eyes, Eugeo of Rulid village screamed…_

 **9th Month of the Human Empire Calendar, 378. Gigas Cedar's clearing, Rulid Area…**

Kirito had many different thoughts running wildly through his mind.

The extent of what Kikuoka had done to this world of his: the dark realization that all its inhabitants were basically lab rats without even knowing it, the lingering worry about the mental state of the teen standing before him, Fear at how much speed the actual Acceleration worked, given how old this place was, and as such how much time could have _actually_ passed in the real world both before and since he got put in the Soult Translator, what could have happened with Asuna, Suguha and the rest of his family with 'Xaxa' still out there, how long it had been since he last ate any ice cream…

…okay, maybe that last one wasn't something he should be thinking about at all, especially in such a serious situation, but c'mon, he had just basically been introduced to a flesh and bone (…within a super-realistic virtual world, at least) freaking Zombieman, one no older than himself, with some clearly serious emotional issues and no problem with lethally injuring himself to prove something. Also, he was still drained and sore from almost 'dying' earlier.

He dearly missed the days when his biggest worries were punching monsters into oblivion and making sure his friends wouldn't die in the next Boss Battle. Things seemed so simple back then…

"…are you okay?" Eugeo finally asked when the black-haired boy's silence became uncomfortably long, snapping Kirito out of his inner musings. "Okay, I accept I wanted to shock you a bit after how you didn't react to me throwing my blade, but I wasn't trying to traumatize you or anything…"

"Do-don't worry, I'm fine." assured the gamer while shaking his head, quickly refocusing his gaze on the green-eyed boy. "I just…have a lot on my mind right now, after what you just showed me. A lot of things are starting to become more obvious and make more sense, and I do not like the implications of any of them…"

"Wait, what?" it was now turn for the pale teen to be confused as he frowned towards the once again serious-looking Kirito. "What does that mean?"

"It's…complicated." answered the black-haired boy while closing his eyes, before opening then again with full resolution. "However, if you promise to tell me all you know about this world that 'normal' people don't, I'm willing to try and explain it."

For a moment, Eugeo stared at the gamer, looking deep into his eyes as if looking for something to distrust or any hidden lies.

However, he found nothing but an Iron Will, honesty…and that strange feeling that he could _trust_ the one before him.

Strange.

"…okay, you have a deal." declared the 'undead' while extending his hand, which Kirito shook with a grateful smile. "Start explaining, then, Mr. Guy from Another World."

"Well…let me try and find a simple way to explain it…" mumbled the black-haired boy before sighing. "So, it's _more or less_ like this: My world has, let's say, a 'door' that leads to this one. Said door was built in secret, and those in charge of that door are most likely the ones responsible for everything in here going so…crazy, for lack of a better term. They have been using the door to throw things in here that…don't belong, that are very dangerous, and that only become 'real' once inside this world…what you refer to as Blessings and Curses."

"…if all of that is supposed to be a secret, how do you know all of this?" demanded the green-eyed teen with a dark edge in his voice, his hand having moved to have a tight grip in his blade.

The gamer didn't know what was more impressive, if the fact that he had understood his half-true metaphors or that, despite being completely powerless, he didn't feel threatened at all by the nigh-immortal boy wielding the power of someone that had been able to kill a Demon-Level Threat in a battle of attrition.

"I have worked with the guy in charge of said 'door' in the past, never by choice but because it was necessary to stop a killer." answered Kirito with an even voice free of hesitation. "I never knew or could have even imagined in my wildest dreams that he would be doing something like _this_ , though…or you can bet I would have done my fucking best to stop him."

Once again, a tense silence surrounded the clearing…before Eugeo sighed and relaxed his hand away from his sword, a wry smile on his face.

"I believe you. Heavens if I know why, all you have said should be nothing but madness, but I do. And being fair to you, given everything I have lived through these last years, it would be hypocritical of me to call anything 'madness'" chuckled the green-eyed teen before crossing his arms, a suddenly thoughtful look on his face. "So…you're saying the Blessings and Curses aren't _actually_ something that comes from the Gods, or, at least, that the Gods only started throwing them our way because of something people from your world did? If so…why? Why would anyone do something like that? What's the point?"

For a moment, the black-haired boy felt conflicted, wondering if he should go ahead and fully break the undead one's beliefs, telling him how the 'Gods' of that world most likely didn't even exist, but if he did that he would without a doubt get more questions, and he had already done his best to tiptoe the line between saying 'The Truth' and not revealing that the Human World, and everything beyond it, were nothing more than an artificial creation made for some unknown, and probably sinister, purpose.

That last bit, however, he could reveal, at least in a fashion.

"I don't know, but knowing the overall situation and what Kikuoka supposedly does…I don't think it's anything good." darkly muttered the gamer while looking at his fist, opening and closing it several times. "If anything, I bet it involves making some profit or getting something useful out of it…"

And the mere thought of that sickened Kirito to the core, not only as a 'Hero' but as a human being.

He had seen the people in Rulid. He had seen Selka's tears, the children's happiness, everyone's fear, everyone's cheer. Even Eugeo's clearly damaged emotional problem, the glum and the guilt that seemed to fill his very presence, not dampened at all by his quite inhuman 'power'.

They were humans, in every sense of the word. They lived, they breathed, they loved, they feared. They were born, grew, made families and died.

What…what could possibly motivate Kikuoka and Rath to do this? To create this world, these people (Because he couldn't think of them as AIs in any way, no matter what) and then do something as crazy as throwing the powers of a fictional series like One Punch-Man at them without warning, for seemingly no reason?

People were suffering. Some were scared, others confused…and others were apparently trying to act as if nothing was wrong. Hell, if he hadn't been there that day, Giant Crow would have _killed_ every single person in Rulid Village. And neither Kikuoka nor Higa or anyone else had lifted a single finger to stop it.

Anger didn't even begin to describe how he felt about that.

"…something 'useful' out of it?" whispered the green-eyed teen with a hint of rage in his voice. "Are you telling me someone would unleash all this madness…just because it could benefit them?"

"I fear so." replied the black-haired boy with a neutral voice, using his long-time used 'Inner Saitama' to reign in his emotions. "But don't worry; if it's true, as soon as I get back home…I'm going to punch their teeth out."

"…get in line, pal." growled the pale boy while clenching his fists…only to blink as he heard the gamer chuckle. "Hey! What the hell is so funny?! I'm being serious here!"

"So-sorry, heh, it's just that…being so angry doesn't suit you at all." answered Kirito while giving him a strange smile.

"Wh-what would you know?! You haven't known me for more even an hour!"

"Yeah, I know, but somehow it just feels as if…"

 _Under the black tree's shadow, the blonde little girl laughed while adjusting her straw hat, the green-eyed kid looking at her with embarrassment while the formless shadow made sit-ups beside them…_

"…as if I knew that for certain."

"…well, it wouldn't be the weirdest thing I have heard tonight." sighed Eugeo before sitting down, earning a curious stare from the black-haired boy. "Guess it's my turn to uphold my end of the deal. Let me tell you all I know…"

And so, the gamer also sat down and listened to the full story.

About a boy and a girl so close they could have been siblings, one stuck cutting a tree with impossible dreams of something more, and the other with talent and cheer that seemed to eclipse everything, as if she was destined for greatness.

How a silly comment made them seek ice to try and keep the meals she brought him cold and edible for longer, to be enjoyed more easily.

How that ended in tragedy, seeing things they weren't mean to see, the girl accidentally touching the forbidden land, and an unfair punishment being delivered to her.

How he tried to save her, breaking a Seal he didn't know his soul had and trusting in an angry beast reincarnated into his axe to do so.

How he failed, his fear of Death being heard by something or someone, delivering his unsettling 'Blessing'. Nothing but grief, shame and guilt filling him after that.

And how all of that together was what convinced him to keep on 'living' as a 'specter', away from his family and Rulid, knowing the only Fate that awaited him if he came back.

Finding out how he didn't 'need' to eat or drink anymore (Even if he still did so when he could for the sake of feeling 'human') and moving into the depths of the Northern Cave, memorizing its labyrinthic insides in months. Recovering the Blue Rose Sword from it and learning to use the, by then, heavy weapon together with his axe, the inhuman limits of his undead body letting him do so despite his lack of proper Authority.

Starting the 'cursed' rumors surrounding the Gigas Cedar while learning the limits of his 'Blessing', allowing him to use the unrest he had, originally, unwillingly caused to steal clothes from the village.

Facing the creatures of the Dark Territory, which one day appeared on the cave out of the blue, shocking him, his superior knowledge of the caverns and his Blessing allowing him to easily overwhelm them once his fear and surprise wore off.

Realizing how he became 'stronger' after doing so. How wielding the sword no longer put any strain on him.

And after that, it was history. Every time any of the creatures tried to venture into the cave, he would protect his village without anyone knowing, slaughtering the enemies before they could realize what was happening. The few times someone with a 'Curse' or, way more rarely, a 'Blessing' showed up, he actually got to fight them head on, but in the end he always prevailed, his inability to die being the ultimate edge in a fight. It was during those times that he learned of the strange 'power' everyone could use, the ability of forcing your own Will to become Reality…

"…and that's all. Today I was truly caught off guard because it was the first time anything that big and powerful tried to come through the Mountain Range, and _also_ the first time anything with the ability to fly that high appeared." finished the green-eyed teen with a small sigh. "You already know the rest."

"I…see." muttered Kirito for answer while biting his lips, still taking in everything he had learned and trying to make sense of it all.

On the one hand, he was appalled with the supposed government system and law that existed in that world. Sure, he was no expert in politics, much less in theocracies (That's what a system ruled by religion was called, right?), but even he knew that when you mixed such ideas with a world where they could somehow directly control and somehow know when someone violated the 'Taboo Index' was something beyond wrong. Even more so if, as he fearfully suspected after everything he had seen and now heard, the entire population was somehow indoctrinated to blindly obey all of this to a subconscious level, unable to rise against the Church's authority, even when the punishment was unfair, no explanations were given or the 'criminal' was a loved one.

On the other hand…it made no sense. Yes, he may not know what Kikuoka and his company were working for or for what reason they had created this world, but he was pretty sure that purposefully hindering their individuality and capacity for growth was dumb, not to mention he could find no actual benefit for it in any way (After all, it wasn't as if the Fluctlights could rebel against the bespectacled man and Rath…they literally existed only within the machines they created, with no knowledge of their lives and world being basically a giant ant farm).

A creeping feeling making his way all over his back, the black-haired boy started to fear that there may be more taking place in there than he, or even Kikuoka, suspected…

"There you go again. You're making that unsettling expressionless face." Eugeo's words managed to snap the gamer out of his thoughts, turning to look at the undead staring at him with a raised eyebrow. "I take it you deduced something else?"

"…maybe. I can't be sure about anything for now, but I have several suspicions that things may be even more twisted than any of us think." explained Kirito while standing up and dusting his pants off. "However, it's already late, and I'm sure it would be the best if no one realized this meeting ever took place."

"Took the words right outta my mouth." agreed the green-eyed teen while closing his eyes, taking in the cold breeze of the night as the black-haired boy walked past him, in direction to Rulid. "…nee, Kirito?"

"Hmm?"

"…do you think I'm a coward? For running away and hiding all these years?"

"…you have single-handedly saved the lives of everyone in the village, probably more times than they could ever imagine, all by yourself, all the while knowing that you couldn't go back to your family and with the guilt of knowing you failed your best friend." softly spoke the gamer while looking over his should, directly into the wide-eyed pale boy's eyes. "I can't even begin to understand how you felt, but I can say without hesitation that no one who would do all of that and keep going despite everything is a coward."

Those words delivered, Kirito kept walking back towards the village, this time not looking one even once.

If it was because he really wanted to sleep or to give Eugeo privacy as he cried tears of relief with a smile on his face, though, was anyone's guess.

* * *

When he woke up the next day, ideas of what could truly be happening in that world and plans to get back home still swirling through his mind, Kirito felt a strange uneasiness filling his heart. As if a part of his heart was endlessly whispering that _something_ was wrong _,_ but he had no idea what.

Once he went downstairs and saw the children eating breakfast, all of them stopping a moment to excitedly greet or give him a shy smile, though, he started to realize what may be the cause of it.

"Hey, where is Selka?"

"We don't know; Sister Azariya was the one to bring us breakfast today, Kirito-niisan." explained the oldest of the orphans while munching on his bread, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "Maybe Selka-oneechan is still tired from healing people yesterday…?"

"…yeah, that's probably it." agreed the black-haired boy while giving the children a reassuring smile and sitting down to eat with them.

Despite whatever he _actually_ thought of how strange that sounded, given that the young apprentice had been perfectly fine last he saw her, he didn't wish to unnecessarily worry them.

As soon as he was done, though, and after entertaining the kids long enough for them to go out to play on their own (After properly warning them of not getting in the way of the adults trying to clean/repair the village), the gamer rushed towards the church's main building, where he found a distressed-looking Azariya working in calming down a couple of worried-looking people, more than likely some of those that had lost their home in yesterday's attack, and that had clearly taken temporary refuge in the church.

"We must be strong, keep our faith high and, above all else, be ready to do our best in these times of need. Chief Gasupht is already organizing a collective effort to make sure all the damaged parts of the village are restored in short order, and you can be sure I will do my best to…oh, Kirito-san!" gasped the nun upon seeing the boy approaching them, the couple gasping before all but bowing towards the 'Hero of Rulid'. "Good morning, I didn't know you were up already. There is some food in…"

"It's okay, I already ate with the children…and please, stand up, I don't feel comfortable with that." awkwardly commented Kirito towards the two bowing villagers, who quickly obeyed and praised/thanked him for what he did once again. "Yo-you're welcome; it was…the least I could do after this village took me in despite my…lack of memory. Uhm, Azariya-san, can we talk?"

"Ye-yes, indeed we can. May you excuse us for a moment?" saying those words and ignoring how the couple started muttering about the Hero's humbleness with awe, Azariya followed the black-haired boy towards the adjacent hallway, biting her lips with worry. "Is something the matter? Perhaps you still feel pain despite your wounds having been hea…?"

"Sister, do you know where Selka is?" the gamer's question making the woman freeze in her tracks made many alarm bells ring in his head, urging him to press on. "She didn't come down to serve the children's breakfast and none of them knew, so as you had done so in her place I thought maybe…"

"Selka…Selka is gone." muttered the nun with clear worry in her eyes.

"Wha…? What do you mean she's gone?!"

"She wasn't coming down at the appointed hour, which is beyond unusual for her, s-so I went to her room to wake her up thinking maybe yesterday's events made her oversleep…but she wasn't there." admitted Azariya with obvious distress, biting her lips once again. "Normally I would have gone out to look for her right away, she may be somewhere in the village helping out, but with what happened yesterday I have been busy organizing and meeting with people almost since waking up, I barely had time to feed the children and…"

"Don't worry, I will go look for her." declared Kirito with a curt nod, giving the woman a small smile as he walked past her. "I'm sure she's just out there trying to be helpful."

"Ye-yes…you're right…"

The black-haired boy didn't need virtual superpowers or having gone through a Death Game to realize how little the nun believed her own words. If such a thing had happened, Selka didn't seem like the type that would go do so without telling her, not unless she had pressing circumstances…or she didn't want to be found.

Both implications didn't spell anything good, and so it was with barely restrained worry that the gamer rushed out of the church and into the village, searching for his young kinda-friend everywhere.

Almost an hour later, though, after having gone through almost the entirety of Rulid and asked everyone he saw in the streets, a slightly out of breath Kirito was forced to accept that Selka was nowhere in the village.

That meant she would have to have gotten out. Problem was, not only did she have no apparent reason to do so, the guard said that he hadn't seen the girl in all morning, which indicated she either was hiding inside a house…or had walked out in the middle of the night, something that was preposterous for the young man guarding the gates to even consider, saying there was no reason for anyone to do such a thing after night fell.

Once again, the clear mentality that it was impossible for anyone to do anything 'outside the norm' that people seemed to have had bothered the black-haired boy, but that was of little importance compared to more pressing matters.

Selka wasn't like most people; she had a 'Blessing'. The power of a character from One Punch-Man, one the gamer was pretty sure he knew and the implications of which could be terrifying, especially if the last part of her 'vision' of 2 days ago was anything to go by. The important thing, though, was that, even if she clearly wasn't as 'free of mind' as Eugeo was, the young apprentice was still able to think in a slightly more open way than others, given how she had been actively hiding her ability for years.

Somehow, for some unknown reason, she had walked out of the village during the night. The gamer didn't know why she had done so, but the fact that it was morning and she still hadn't returned meant that something must have gone wrong, and with everything that had happened and that he had discovered last night, that almost sent his mind into a panic overdrive.

Barely hesitating for half a second after having made those deductions, Kirito turned around and ran through Rulid, ignoring the many surprised looks or calls for his name he got while doing so, barely caring about his tiredness as he exited the village through the south gate and headed towards the Gigas Cedar.

Halfway to the clearing, though, the boy was forced to slow down and catch his breath again, cursing his lack of super speed and seemingly unlimited stamina…when something that he hadn't noticed the previous times he walked that path caught his eye.

It was an old and abandoned-looking wooden shed, not very special and that clearly hadn't been used in years, the reason for which became clear once he got close enough and opened the half-closed door, seeing the half-abandoned crates and broken axes inside.

This, without a doubt, must have been the shed where Eugeo used to store the Dragon Bone Axe, back when he was a kid trying to cut down a tree he wouldn't be able to fell in his lifetime.

The gamer had just started to shake off the thoughts about the uneasy unfairness of that world when something among the boxes caught his attention.

Blinking, a mix of surprise, shock and disbelief filling him, Kirito leaned down towards the object in question…

"Eugeo!" shouted the black-haired boy less than 5 minutes later, rushing into the Gigas Cedar's clearing once more, though now with an old bag on his back. "Are you here?! Come out, I need your help to…!"

"Woah, calm down, would you? I'm still here." came the familiar voice of the undead from behind the gamer, making him turn around to see the pale boy standing a few meters away with a raised eyebrow, once again having seemingly come out of nowhere. "I had a lot to think about last night, so I didn't go back to the cave yet…Still, are you okay? You sound like your life is in danger or…"

"Selka is missing." declared Kirito without missing a beat, making the green-eyed teen's entire body freeze as his eyes widened in a mix of shock and worried fear. "She apparently snuck out of the village in the middle of the night and hasn't come back yet. I have no idea where she could have gone and I fear something may have happened, so I wanted to ask for your help."

"Wha…but…that's…that makes no sense! Selka-chan has no reason to do such a thing!" shouted Eugeo with a hysteric edge in his voice. "Why would she even…?!"

"The why isn't important right now." Kirito cut him off the with a steel-filled gaze as he grabbed the undead one's shoulder, surprising the pale boy as he hadn't even felt him come close. "As you know, I still have little knowledge of this world and almost none about the area's geography beyond Rulid and this clearing, so I would appreciate if you could tell me anywhere you think she may have gone."

"I…I…" taking a deep breath, the green-eyed teen nodded and calmed down, looking back at the gamer with a determined expression. "She can't have gotten lost in forests at the east or the west. There is nothing in them that could make her go, and they're so tame even someone with no idea of the area would struggle to get lost, let alone someone who grew here. Also, if she had gone in Zakkaria's (That's the closest town) direction, I would have noticed it, the road is pretty close to this clearing and my senses are inhumanly sharp…"

"So, unless she was careless enough to fall on the river, something I'm not inclined to believe despite the short time I have known her, that only leaves…"

"North. The cave." spoke Eugeo with a frozen tone, his gaze crossing with Kirito's in that instant.

There was no need to voice out anything else. The stories about creatures from the Dark Territory having tried to come through the cavern for years that the pale teen had narrated were still fresh on the black-haired boy's mind.

As he had said, the 'why' didn't matter in that moment. Just that Selka could be in potentially deadly danger.

"I'm going. There is no way I'm letting anything happen to her." declared the gamer while turning around and reaching into the bag he was carrying, before shooting a quick glance towards the green-eyed boy. "You're coming too, right?"

"…of course. After all, I still can't forgive myself…that I was too weak to protect her." muttered Eugeo while clenching his fists. "I'm not going to fail her little sister too."

"Then follow me." sentenced Kirito while bringing out what had been hiding within the bag, wrapping it over his back in one motion and fastening over his shoulders in another. "We're going to bring her back home safe."

Blinking in surprise, the pale teen could only stare in disbelief at the old and slightly decolored fabric the black-haired boy now wore over his back. It clearly hadn't been used in years, even if it had apparently been dusting off in a hurry, and parts of it, the hood most noticeably, had been torn off, but it clearly was…

"…is that supposed to be a cape?" questioned the green-eyed boy with utter confusion.

"Of course. Not all Heroes may wear capes, but they're still damn cool." nonchalantly replied the gamer before starting to run as fast as he could, the old cape flapping wildly behind him. "Now let's go; we have wasted enough time already! Don't get left behind!"

"…you DO know that you don't exactly know where the cave is, right?" Eugeo reminded him with a hint of amusement as he easily caught up and kept his pace. "Also that I don't really need to breathe as I run?"

"Shu-shut up and lead the way, then!" replied Kirito with an embarrassed blush.

Chuckling softly, feeling strangely light-hearted despite the potentially serious situation and the worry filling his heart, the pale teen nodded and overtook the black-haired boy, making sure to keep an eye in case he ran out of breath and needed to stop.

After all, there was something in him that just made the undead feel as if he could do anything…

* * *

Selka Zuberg had never known violence.

Of course, having grown in a loving family, in a peaceful village, in a world where human behavior was strangely controlled, this was no surprise. The closest her life had ever come to see violence was the incident when her sister was taken away years ago, and she had been at home when that happened, only having seen the last parts of that terrifying encounter in the sky through her window, too far away to make out details and feel anything but sadness and fear.

Now though, as she was bound by dirty ropes and looked at like she was a piece of meat for the sinister and chuckling goblins as they talked about their plans, a myriad of different emotions went through her.

Terror. Disgust. Sadness. Despair. But, more than anything…Disappointment.

She had come to the cave looking for answers, for a way to be useful to Kirito in a way to repay everything he had done for her and her village, to find a way to get him back home…and all that she accomplished was dooming herself.

Now, she was going to die without being useful to anyone, causing nothing but grief to her father, Sister Azariya and everyone else.

Surprisingly though, what she regretted the most were just two things.

One was that she could never see her precious older sister again.

And the other was that she couldn't help that strange and otherworldly boy that she had known for so little, but felt as if she had always known…

"Heh, what you thinking about, little humie?" asked Ugachi's voice with dark amusement, making the young girl look up to see the disgusting visage of the chameleon-like goblin staring down at her. "Your humie family? How you're gonna die?"

"…no, not really." lied the Sacred Arts apprentice while doing her best to glare at the creature, glad at least that her tears of fear had already dried off. "I was just thinking about the future."

"Future?" laughed the goblin leader as if he was hearing a particularly funny joke, his not-so-bright henchmen doing the same upon hearing him. "There is no future for you, humie."

"Maybe…but I can see it, you know? The future." declared Selka with just a hint of fake pride, making the goblins' laughter stop as they looked at her. "I, too, have received a gift of the Gods. I can see things that haven't happened yet, long before they happen…and I have seen your end, Ugachi the goblin."

"Liar!" growled Ugachi while towering over the young girl and pointing his machete at her face in a threatening gesture, _actually_ making her flinch. "The Gods would give no power to a little weak thing like you! And Ugachi will never fall!"

"…you can believe me or not, in the end it doesn't really matter." continued the young girl with as much conviction as she could muster, thinking that perhaps she could gain enough time for an escape to came to her mind, as unlikely as that sounded. "But that won't change what I have seen."

"Then tell me, humie!" snarled the chameleon-like goblin while grabbing Selka's shoulder, easily raising her to his eye-level just to glare at the scared girl. "Who is it that brings Ugachi's end?!"

For a moment, the Sacred Arts apprentice hesitated, unsure of how to answer…before the clearest image she had seen during her latest visions, the only one that she had continuously seen without mistake, shot once again through her mind.

"…by the caped one wearing black and white, whose face is darkness and eyes are the void." softly muttered the Sacred Arts apprentice with an almost entranced tone, but in the suddenly deadly silent cave, it echoed with a terrifying finality.

And just when the dark creature seemed about to retort…

"Man, that's just not good, Selka-chan." spoke a familiar voice from seemingly out of nowhere, making all the goblins tense and turn around in shock, in time to see Eugeo's nonchalant form entering the open area of the cavern, both his weapons drawn and their edges dragging across the icy floor. "How am I now supposed to kill that ugly-face without making you into a liar?"

"E-Eugeo?!" shouted Selka with utter shock, clearly not having expected to see her long-lost pseudo-big brother again so soon, even less in such a situation. "Wh-what are you doing here?!"

"That's rude. I _live_ here." explained the green-eyed boy as he glared at the creatures from the Dark Territory, who were now brandishing their weapons and walking in an open formation to surround him. "Just let me clean up the place and then I will get you out of those bonds, yes?"

"Brave words for a soon to be dead humie!" laughed Ugachi while letting go of the young girl and walking straight for the pale teen, a massive smirk (Which was beyond creepy with his abnormal lips) having replaced his angered look. "Believing you can face Ugachi-sama and his men will be the last mistake you ever made!"

"Hmm, now that you say it, you DO outnumber me…" commented Eugeo with a seemingly worried tone…before throwing his axe as if it was a tomahawk, no one having time to even blink before it lodged itself through a goblin's skull, the creature falling dead without even realizing what had happened. "There. I have only the sword now. That's fairer."

"H-he killed Grog!"

"No way! So fast!"

"Wha…?! KILL THE HUMIE!"

"Damn humie!"

"Revenge for Grog!"

"Dead to the humie!"

"E-Eugeo, run!" screamed a scared Selka as she saw all the goblins rushing towards the green-eyed boy, who had to jump backward with slight surprise when Ugachi's tongue shot towards his feet like a bullet, barely avoiding it. "Fo-forget me and just…!"

"Do you really think he will do that? C'mon Selka, you know him better than me, I'm sure." whispered a familiar voice from behind the young girl, who was about to squeak in surprise before the boy's hand closed around his mouth. "Shh! Don't scream! I need to get you out while he distracts them! Thank God they were too dumb to try and leverage you as a hostage, just like Eugeo said…"

"Kirito…" muttered the Sacred Arts apprentice while staring at the gamer in shock, her eyes traveling over the old cape he was now wearing as he undid her binds. "Ho-how…?"

"I noticed you were missing this morning, and after asking around I realized you had gone out last night. Obviously, that made me more than worried." explained Kirito as he finished unmaking the rope's knots, ignoring the screams and shouts of the goblins in the background as they realized the 'humie' using a blade with his left hand wasn't as helpless as they thought. "After that, I ran to find Eugeo and he helped me deduce you were probably here and in troubles….Done!"

"Tha-that's…" muttered the shocked Selka while the black-haired boy helped her up, barely able to believe he had managed to notice and do all of that so fast. "How…?"

"That doesn't matter now, what does is getting you to safety." cut her off the gamer while tugging her arm. "Quick, Eugeo knows all the passages in this place like the back of his hand, the one I used to get behind this area without them noticing is right the…!"

"GOT YOU!"

The world slowed down with but a thought from Kirito, his gaze snapping back just as Selka's eyes started to widen, reacting in time to move his hand through the (In his eyes) slow-moving Reality and intercept the incoming tongue with his forearm.

Of course, instead of the expected result his instincts thought such a thing would cause, he felt as if someone had just slammed a hammer against his bones, sending him flying back like a ragdoll as pain shot through him, a scream of pain escaping him as he crashed to the ground.

…his arm hadn't broken, though. It seemed he truly had become 'stronger' after 'leveling up' yesterday.

"KIRITO!" screamed the young girl in shock, turning in fear to see Ugachi's form towering maliciously over her, her eyes moving in time to see his missing machete was embedded in Eugeo's chest, the rest of his minions taking advantage of it to hack into the struggling teen with their own weapons. "Oh, Goddess…EUGEO!"

"Your plan has failed, humie!" mocked the chameleon-like goblin while grabbing Selka by the neck and lifting her up without effort. "Now you both will die because you dared oppose…!"

"Disaster…Level…Wolf." raggedly spoke Kirito as he stood back up, surprising the dark creature upon seeing him simply shake his arm and grimace for a moment before just glaring at him, seemingly no worse for wear, something he had only seen members of the Fist Fighter Tribe ever doing after his tongue hit them. "Tongue Stretcher. How…lame."

"What?! Has the hit damaged your brain, humie?! No matter, I have your little female here at my power, and your friend is dead!" snarled Ugachi with confidence while shaking the young girl's body, making her moan in pain and the black-haired boy's eyes to narrow further. "Prepare to feel Ugachi-sama's wrath, foolish humie!"

"Not on this life and _definitely_ not from such a filler-level power like yours!" replied the gamer before shooting forward faster than the goblin leader expected, his cape flapping distractingly as he did so. "I'm getting Selka back!"

Normally, Kirito would have never done such a thing while an innocent, especially someone close to him, was at his opponent's mercy, but several factors he had learned recently let him decide this was the best course of action.

Namely, the clear low level of intelligence these 'goblins' possessed, and that had become more than obvious since the moment Eugeo engaged them and they stopped paying attention to Selka and their surroundings. In fact, the boy was pretty sure it was only Ugachi's 'Curse' that had, somehow, let him notice the whispered exchange between him and the young girl.

The other was that Tongue Stretcher was a character so pathetic he had all but defeated himself upon hearing the King's Engine and being stared at by the aforementioned S-Class Hero, and even he had looked more capable with the power than just 'Shoot my tongue once', like Ugachi was doing. His inner jokes about the 'True Strongest Gamer' aside, that spoke volumes about the capability of the creature he was facing.

When the chameleon-like goblin did nothing but scream like a possessed animal and swing his fist towards him, not even bothering using his much faster tongue or Selka's life as a threat, the gamer knew his gamble had paid off.

Ugachi may be bigger, stronger, have a 'superpower', and is more resistant than Kirito.

But as the world slowed down once again in his perception and he effortlessly dodged the attack before ramming his fist in his ample stomach with all his might, nothing but the image of him flying back in his mind, one thing became very clear.

He was no match in a straight-out fight for someone that had spent years watching the UHA's members fight.

"GUAAAAH!" screamed the chameleon-like goblin as he stumbled back in pain, _actually_ letting go of Selka and spitting blood from the hit.

Without even blinking, the black-haired boy easily caught the wide-eyed apprentice in his arms, looking down at her with concern.

"You okay?"

"Ah…yes." muttered Selka while nodding dumbly towards him.

"Ba-bastard!" growled Ugachi while standing up again. "You will pay for…!"

No other word came out of the goblin chief's mouth, for in the moment the clearly dead body of one of his henchmen landed beside them, making him shout, the young girl squeak and the gamer to grimace.

His gaze moving back, the dark creature's eyes widened in horror and shock at seeing the rest of his men backing away from the bleeding and _smiling_ teen, all their weapons digging into his flesh through his entire body, more than one piercing through a supposedly lethal spot.

And yet, all Eugeo did was nonchalantly tear off the machete embedded on the side of his neck with his free hand, casually throwing it to the side.

"Okay, even for a distraction, that was too far. Cuts on the throat are a bitch, you know? Most of the time I can't even talk until it finishes growing back." calmly spoke the green-eyed boy before his eyes narrowed and, with a flick of his hand, the Dragon Bone Axe flew back to his hand, the weapon **roaring** as what seemed like the fangs of some ancient beast grew from the sides of its head, the act frightening the goblins almost as much as seeing his neck's wound close itself. "Distraction is over…time to _exterminate_."

"Mo-monster!" shouted Ugachi with clear shock, apparently not caring for the irony of his declaration before turning around and running as fast as he could towards the surprised pair of Kirito and Selka. "RE-RETREAT, EVERYONE!"

Then, before either the boy or the girl could dodge, he reached out towards them with his tongue, wrapping it around the gamer's shocked form and dragging him along, his shout going unheard as his feet left the ground.

"Kirito! No!" screamed Selka as she saw the goblin chief running past her and all but kidnapping her savior. "Let him go!"

It could be later argued if it was done out of defiance, bravery or stupidity, but at the moment, all that Selka cared about as she all but jumped on the creature's chameleon-like tail was to try and help the one she had (In her eyes) only caused problems for since he appeared in her life.

Eugeo's eyes widened slightly as he saw Ugachi speeding away into the tunnels with his two 'friends' in tow, growling in anger before becoming all but a whirlwind of death, his weapons cutting through the rest of the goblins as if they were made of butter, eager to follow before something else he would regret happened.

Kirito, meanwhile, was doing everything in his power to get free, but he was sadly coming to realize that the goblin's mutant tongue wasn't anywhere near as sensitive to his punches as his stomach had been, the creature not even seeming to notice his attempts of getting free, fear driving the goblin to his limits.

Sadly, it was just as the black-haired boy had feared: Skill and Inhuman perception could only help him so far in a world of Superhumans and monsters. Especially when his entire fighting experience was based around being weaponless and having physical abilities beyond those of even the most broken characters he could think of. A very bad combination when you lost the most important of those and were dropped somewhere that your potential enemies outnumbered and overpowered you at absurd levels.

He needed to find a way to…!

"Ki-Kirito…hang in there!" the familiar voice made the gamer's head snap down, looking in shock as Selka gripped on Ugachi's tail and tried to make the creature to stop by any (And seemingly useless) means. "I will…help you!"

"Se-Selka?! What are you do…?!"

Before he could finish his shocked sentence, though…the young girl bit down into the goblin's tail, with all her might, tears falling down her face as she drew blood with the act, the disgusting coppery taste filling her mouth.

The dark creature's scream filled the entire cavern as he retracted his tongue violently as they turned around a corner, Kirito falling down painfully as the tail slammed up and down, making the Sacred Arts apprentice scream in pain while Ugachi roared bloody murder, but never stopped running.

"Fucking humie!" snarled Ugachi as he twisted his tail forward and grabbed Selka's body with both hands, tightly squeezing as the young girl screaming. "I KILL YOU!"

"Aaaaaaghhhhh!"

The black-haired boy's eyes snapped open as he heard the apprentice's scream, dark memories rushing back to his mind in a single second.

Falling down and rushing to punch Kayaba, Yui's scream still in the background and all his friends defeated on the ground, the blade about to end Asuna…

Once again landing too late, Leafa's pained cry still consuming his mind as he glared towards Oberon as he held Justice, everyone looking at him in shock and his crying little sister with relief…

His fists breaking Equinox's first avatar apart, the forms of the two girls he had learned to love first looking at him with happy tears, though their pained screams still echoed within his mind…

All those times, too late to stop them from suffer. And this time, too late to even make a differ…

 **NO.**

"Selka…!"

He was not going to fail her…to fail himself…to fail the insane path he had chosen deep inside.

 _"…I just want to have a normal life from now on."_

 _…but that's a lie._

Fists clenched, the gamer shot to his feet, rushing towards the distant form of Ugachi, the world slowing to a crawl in his eyes, but too far away and too fast for him to catch up.

 _What I really want is…_

"Need to save her…need to reach him…C'MON!"

 _…to keep being the Hero I have grown used to be._

Will overpowered the World, making it bend.

Imagination took shape, the image of a bald caped figure effortlessly moving as fast as a super-powered alien burning into his mind.

Reality was Overwritten. For a single instant, the Chains loosened.

From a step to the next, the sole of Kirito's boots changed, turned into a familiar white material. With a scream, he _moved_ , feeling as if his whole body was going to break as he did so at a speed no normal human would be able to withstand…and he jumped, feet first, slamming both into the chief goblin's back just as the Chains tightly gripped his existence again, making his boot return to normal.

This time, though…he had seen the phenomenon take place.

And with a brutal sound of bones breaking and flesh exploding, Ugachi was catapulted forward, his bloody scream almost leaving the boy deaf as they both flew through the cavern's air…and into the open.

For a moment, the gamer was greeted by the shocking sight of a dead-looking land and a surprisingly dark sky despite it being morning, before he crashed against the rocky dirt and painfully rolled through it.

Groaning in utter pain, he forced himself to his knees in shaky arms, looking back to see a frozen and terrified Selka sprawled at the end of the cave, staring at him with a mix of horror and shock.

He understood why in an instant, though, and why she seemed to have forgotten how he just saved her life.

This was the Dark Territory. Not only a land of darkness and death forbidden by the Taboo Index and ingrained into all the Human World's inhabitants to fear almost since they were born…but also the one that had, indirectly, taken her sister away.

Kirito was about to stand and reassure her everything was fine when two things stopped him from doing so.

The first was the pain shooting through his left leg, the one he had slammed against the goblin's back first, telling him he had either fractured or outright broken it.

The second was a massive and monstrously strong tongue hitting him on the side, driving the air out of his lungs and sending him rolling through the ground once again.

He barely had any time to see Selka's horrified face as she screamed his name, blood falling down the side of his head from the nasty hit, before a large bulk blocked her from view.

"Damn…humie…" snarled Ugachi with a labored breath, his back all but destroyed in a bloody mess, part of his spinal cord exposed…and still standing, somehow. "Ki-kill…you…!"

Staring in shock at the creature's eyes, Kirito saw something that shook him to the core.

There was anger, animalistic rage…and hate and fear too. The terror of not wanting to die and the hate against someone that had all but killed you.

And the fact that he was standing despite the all but lethal injury he had received…this was the 'phenomenon' Eugeo had described, the one that he had somehow used to tap into his Saitama-like skills despite these supposedly not existing in this World. The ability to force your own Willpower into Reality and change it.

Such a thing, and such feelings, could only be possible…with a true soul. With a Fluctlight.

Of course, there was no way Kikuoka had magically made goblin souls for such a thing, no. It had to be a _human Fluctlight_.

Inside this creature before him was no AI or pre-programmed behavior. Not even a programmed awareness that had gained sentience like Yui, Strea or Equinox.

This being, Ugachi the goblin, had an honest-to-God SOUL. He was a creature that had been born, been raised and grown into this naturally.

And…of course it had ben naturally. After all, didn't they humans become what they were, learned how to behave and understand society because they were raised as humans? A contrast easy to see in, for example, Yui?

Fiction had described it before, with stories like Tarzan. A human being that grew among other creatures, with no idea of what being human was like, could all but become said creatures.

If you put a human soul in a body of a different creature, then? And if it was raised among others like him, in a society born of everyone believing they were those creatures?

How could it NOT be such a creature when his entire existence was being one?

Ugachi the Lizard Killer hadn't become what he was because of a bad choice in life or because he had done any wrong at being born. He had simply been put inside 'a goblin' instead of 'a human' like Eugeo or Selka had, when someone had decided to make the inhuman experiment of making an entire world inhabited by true artificial living beings.

He wasn't cruel and slightly dumb because of some dark villainous plot…but because he had been raised to be that way, despite, on the inside, being as human as any inhabitant of Rulid.

'The True power of us Human Beings is that we can change ourselves on our own'.

For the first time, Kirigaya Kazuto was seeing firsthand how true Saitama's most symbolic phrase could be in the darkest possible way.

With a snarl, barely seeming to think coherently anymore, Ugachi raised his arm, ready to turn Kirito's head into a pulp with the last of his strength…

"NOOOOO!"

A shattering echo. A scream. The unmistakable and sickly sound of something piercing into flesh.

Frozen in place, the goblin chief shook for an instant before falling on his side, dead.

As he fell away, the black-haired boy was greeted to Selka's shaking form; tears falling freely from her blood-stained face as she sobbed so hard she barely seemed able to stand. On the dead creature's back, piercing through a bit of flesh and straight into his half-exposed spinal cord, was a medium-sized sharp rock, probably from the cave's ground.

The most shocking sight for the gamer, though, was that most of the blood covering the young girl as she fell to her knees _wasn't_ from Ugachi…but from herself.

Where her right eye had been, nothing but a bloody emptiness remained.

Idly, Kirito acknowledged this was something Eugeo had told him. About the strange 'Seal of the Right Eye' that somehow enforced the Taboo Index's teachings into every person's soul, and all the dark implications such a thing had brought to his mind. And how it was obvious the apprentice had broken it when she willingly stepped into the Dark Territory to save his life.

But he disregarded all of that in favor of dragging himself to her side and trapping her into a fierce hug, letting her sob away against his chest, suddenly feeling more tired than he had in his whole life.

"I…I…you…he…!" cried Selka while trying and failing to say anything coherent.

"Shhh…it's okay. You saved me." whispered the boy while hugging her tighter and closing his eyes. "That's all that matters."

It was to this scene that Eugeo arrived, barely 5 seconds later, looking first in shock and then in horror once his gaze fell upon Selka's bloodied face.

"No, no, no, no…!" endlessly repeated the pale teen as he rushed to their side. "Dammit! If I had been faster dealing with those bastards, then…!"

"That Ugachi was…half-chameleon. Too fast when running away…even for you…" mumbled the gamer with clear effort while looking at him. "'sides…we're still alive…"

"You don't get it! Now that she broke the seal, they will…!"

The green-eyed boy's mouth shut tightly mid-phrase when the terrifying sound of the World _screaming_ filled the air.

With a mix of wonder, fear, and a vague sense of familiarity, Kirito, together with Selka, stared as a pale and hairless human face, of all things, materialized from nothingness, through some sort of screen, staring straight towards the young girl.

-singular &%%#…unit…

And that was as far as it went before Eugeo _slashed through it_ with fury, the Blue Rose Sword being stained red as the face was all but split in half, the distortion vanishing together with it.

Far away, in a sinister circular room, a human head fell down, bloody and almost cut in half.

None of the other 'heads' in the room seemed to pay any attention to it, though, continuing their usual 'work' without any care.

However…the unnatural **thing** that was embedded into part of the wall DID notice, mismatched eyes turning towards the now dead 'tool', archiving away the event for immediate report, as it had been reprogrammed to do…

"Wha-what…was that…?" muttered Selka with clear fear, staring at the space the unnatural face had been.

"Nothing good." growled the pale teen before turning around, a sense of urgency in his eyes. "Quick, we need to get you two back to Rulid to get healed before…wait…Kirito?"

"Tired…" mumbled the black-haired boy as his suddenly nerveless arms let go of the young girl, her shocked eyes fixed on him as he fell on his back. "Gonna…sleep for a moment…"

"O-oh God…he hurt his head…he's dying!" shouted the Sacred Arts apprentice as she all but scrambled to his side. "Kirito, stay awake, please! I'm going to heal you!"

"N-no, Sugu…there is no school today…I just want to sleep for a bit more…then we can go to ALO and meet with Asuna and the rest…"

"H-he's saying nonsense now!" screamed a terrified Eugeo as he kneeled beside the gamer and held his head, looking at Selka with the panicked fear that she remembered used to be so characteristic of him. "C-can you really heal him?!"

"I'm…trying…!" growled the young girl as she all but forced the scarce Luminous Elements of the area into Kirito's wound, but not seeing it getting any better. "I-it's no use, it must be deeper than I thought, ma-maybe even inside his skull…I-I don't have the necessary knowledge to treat him…"

"But…he won't last until we get him to Sister Azariya, even if I carried him there myself!" hopeless fear was clear in the green-eyed boy's eyes. "I can't…I…this is my fa…!"

 _'It's not your fault, Eugeo. Neither yours, Selka.'_

That voice. That single, unique voice, out of everything in this strange world, was the only thing that could have cut through the despair-filled minds of them both as brutally as it did, eyes widening as they froze.

 _"Onee…san…?"_

 _"A…lice…?"_

There was no one there, though. No one in the dark cave tunnel at their side, nor as far as they could see in the desolate land around them.

Even so, both of them could almost feel a presence there with them, reaching out and tenderly touching their shoulders with a warmth and familiarity they had only dreamed of feeling again.

 _'I will help you save him. You two…no, the whole world needs him, if we want to avoid Absolute Ruin consuming us all. Also…is exactly what he would do.'_

"A-Alice…how…where…?"

 _'No time. Listen to me. You will put your Will, Eugeo dear. Your Incarnation is more than enough for it. And you, my precious little sister, you will put the means. You know how to heal him, you can SEE it if you want, so just do it and…Will it to happen. I know you can do it…I believe in you.'_

Holding back a sob, and the thousand and one things she wanted to see, Selka Zuberg closed her eyes and, with all her might, willed herself to SEE, just as Eugeo did the same, gripping her hand tightly.

Instead of the myriad of things she usually saw from events yet to come, though…this time she only saw her own hands moving tenderly over a bloody boy, staring at her with sheepish but grateful eyes, she herself returning a reproaching look, but filled with the care of someone used to it.

The young girl barely even realized she had started muttering the longest Sacred Art she had ever chanted before the glow of Elements shifting into very complex shapes covered Kirito's half-conscious form, centering on the wound of his head.

She was more than able to do so, with her newly raised Authority. After all, putting it on the cruelest terms, she had been the one to get the most 'Experience' by landing the 'Last Attack' on the enemy 'Boss'.

All that the apprentice felt as she saw the wound on her Hero vanish completely and color return to his face, though, was absolute relief, Eugeo at her side sagging and muttered a soft 'Thank the Goddesses…' and…

"Alice…thank you…"

"Onee-san…thank…!"

 _'…this is all I can do, Selka-chan. Forgive me…I…can't do anything else…except warning you.'_

"Wha…?" started the shocked Selka before, once again, she **saw** something she wasn't supposed to see.

 _'Stay away.'_

Standing proudly, like a mountain of untold power, a figure clad in golden armor stared down at a vanishing monster, the hedgehog-like thing mangled horribly as the knight sheathed a sword that felt as powerful as its presence, a blue cape moving softly on its back.

 _'Stay away from her.'_

Suddenly…the armored knight 'blurred' for an instant, and now she was staring straight at Selka's perspective, making her mind freeze at the hostility and power behind her presence.

 _'You're no match for her, and…'_

From within the equally golden helmet she worse, the young girl could feel a piercing gaze staring right into her soul from beyond the helmet's void.

 _'…I don't want you to ever face such pain.'_

And then, it was over, her sister's presence gone and nothing but a worried Eugeo shouting her name and asking if she was okay, even as Selka tried to control the shaking on her hands and reassure him, before reminding the green-eyed boy they needed to carry Kirito back to Rulid.

All the while, though, the last warning and vision she had somehow received from her sister kept echoing through her mind.

To stay away from the Golden Knight…

* * *

Dark. So dark. Everything was…

 _"Onii-chan…where are you…?"_

 _"Please…you need to stop!"_

…so dark. Wait.

 _"We need to find him…we need to…!"_

 _"Something is wrong with all of this…"_

Those voices…

 _"Sensei wouldn't give up if any of us vanished!"_

 _"And none of us will either, but…I think we may have to accept that this time we are…"_

Everyone…he…he could hear them…

 _"Papa…resist! Wherever you are, I will…"_

 _"Time…so much time…why?! Why can't we find him?!"_

So close, yet so far. Maybe…maybe if he could…just reach out…

 _…k…i…l…l…m…e…k…i…r…i…t…o…p…l…e…a…s…e…_

Wai, what?! It was…different…! Where had that voice…come from?! How…why was it so…fami…?!

 **"[Can you hear me, Young One?]"**

With a gasp, Kirito shot up in his bed, cold sweat covering his body as he gulped as much air as he could with ragged breaths.

Closing the book she had been reading and standing up, Selka all but ran to his side, a relieved smile all but splitting her face as she hugged him for a moment

As she let go of him, the black-haired boy realized her right eye was back.

"Kirito! Thank the Goddesses you're awake already, you have been out for hours!" happily said the young girl before rushing to the side and all but shoving a plate with food and water in the gamer's face. "Here, eat and drink something! You will feel much better after you do!"

"Selka…" mumbled Kirito as he gulped down the glass with water in one go, his eyes moving to the window and seeing the darkened sky outside as he did so. "What…what happened after…?"

"Ah…you fainted from your wounds, but I managed to heal you through…special circumstances. Then Eugeo helped me bring you all the way to the edge of the forest, before saying he needed to do something urgent and stay hidden for it, so I carried you and cried for help the last part of the way." explained the apprentice while twiddling with her fingers. "Everyone was shocked and scared when they saw us covered in blood, but thankfully Sister Azariya was able to fix your leg and restore my eye…it left her exhausted, though, so she's most likely sleeping like a log by now."

"I…see." nodded the black-haired boy while biting on the piece of bread and cheese he had been given. "…what did you tell everyone?"

"…that I had been kidnapped by goblins and you came to save me." accepted Selka with a small blush, looking away. "Of course, I didn't give any details or explain completely everything that happened, but it was necessary to keep both your and…I guess my own transgression from coming to light."

"Heh, so everyone just thinks I keep being a Hero but don't know I have broken, and indirectly made you break, the Taboo Index." chuckled the gamer while shaking his head. "They probably wouldn't be thinking the same if…"

"No. Don't say that." the young girl said, cutting him off with an abnormally serious tone, making him look in surprise towards her fierce gaze. "You…you _saved_ my life. Almost lost your own, in a world not your own, away from your family…just for me. Compared to that? Helping you was nothing…and…even breaking the Taboo Index was…something I won't ever regret. Because it let me _save you_ back."

"Selka…" whispered Kirito with a surprised look before his gaze softened, a massive smile blossoming on his face as he reached out and patted the shocked apprentice's head, the cheer intensity and honesty of his face having caught her off guard. "Thanks. Guess even Heroes need to be saved from time to time."

"I-it was…nothing…" mumbled Selka with a red face while wondering why she suddenly seemed unable to form coherent sentences. "Uhm…ah…tha-that's right, Eugeo should be here already! Be-before going away he told me had something urgent to tell you when you woke…"

"You're awake." suddenly interrupted a familiar voice, making both boy and girl turn around to see Eugeo climbing through the window and into the room with a swift motion, carrying a slightly bloated bag on his back (And a new shirt, they idly noticed). "Good. I was fearing I would have to slap you awake if you weren't…"

"E-Eugeo, how can you even say that?!" shouted the flustered apprentice while walking towards him. "He just recovered from a head injury that would have killed him; he needs to rest and…!"

"How bad was it?" the gamer's question caught Selka off guard, making her turn around to see he had stood up with a frown and all but gobbled down half the food she had brought for him.

"Terrible. If I hadn't had to wait for everyone in the village to be at their homes and/or sleeping, it would have been ready an hour after we brought you back." explained the green-eyed boy before looking at the young girl with urgency in his gaze. "Selka-chan, grab enough spare clothes to last you for a while and anything else you may need but that wouldn't hinder your walking. We need to leave."

"Wha…?! Leave? What do you mean by…?"

"He means that they're coming for you." spoke Kirito while downing what remained of his water and wiping his mouth, countless thoughts running through his mind. "The Axiom Church."

"Selka-chan, you not only violated the Taboo Index, you did it willingly and while actually having a Blessing." grimly said the pale teen while putting a hand over his sword's hilt, as if to calm himself down. "They took Alice away for a mistake and while being a harmless little girl. To be honest, I'm surprised we don't have an Integrity Knight here already, but given none showed up after yesterday's giant bird, I'm assuming a delay is on our side, thank the Goddesses. It won't last forever, though, so we need to get you as far away from here before they come."

"Bu-but…father, Sister Azariya….!"

"They couldn't, or more like didn't even try, to stop your sister from being taken back then." as he said those words, the black-haired boy stared at 'his' clothes, the ones he had arrived in that world with, and put them on again, trading away the ones he had been lent. "I'm not letting something like that happen to you. I saved you and you saved me, so let's keep this cycle going for as long as it's needed, okay?"

"Kirito…that means…?"

"So, you're really coming along? Just like that?" asked Eugeo with a raised eyebrow. "You could just stay here, you know? People here love you, and no one would ever suspect you of having anything to do with Selka-chan's disappearance, especially after she brought you here unconscious…"

"What kind of 'Hero' would I be if I was selfish enough to do that?" questioned the gamer with a smile while turning around. "Besides, shouldn't YOU be the one with those doubts? I thought you had resigned yourself to be Rulid's silent protector. After seeing you these last 2 days, how close you were to Selka years ago doesn't seem like enough reason for this, no offense…is there something more?"

For a moment, nothing but silence came from the undead boy before he took a deep breath and stared towards the moon outside the window.

"…Alice may still be alive."

"…oh." muttered Kirito, a quick glance towards the young girl's suddenly longing eyes being more than enough. "I guess there is a story behind how you are so sure of that?"

"There is, but there is no time to…"

"Okay then, it's decided, I'm coming with you two." cut him off the black-haired boy with a confident smile, surprising both of them. "As of right now, I'm not only in a mission to protect Selka, but also to help you two find and save Alice."

"Re-really?" whispered the Sacred Arts apprentice with shock, biting her lips with a guilty look. "But…your world…"

"I'm still going to find a way to go back, of course. Don't doubt that for even a second." assured the gamer while walking closer to them, giving them both a serious look and then a disarming smile. "But only after I have helped you out. Also…where better to find a way to get out than at the Church that rules this world?"

"…you DO realize you're basically declaring yourself an enemy of the entire world by doing this, right?" carefully asked Eugeo with narrowed eyes. "I'm technically dead, both me and Selka are criminals and will become fugitives with this. Finding and saving Alice may very well involve us going directly against the Integrity Knights, the strongest humans in this world, and the Axiom Church itself."

"Seriously? Just one world? And I have you both on my side? That hardly seems fair." commented the black-haired boy with a seemingly thoughtful look…before letting out a soft chuckle. "Maybe we should keep Selka out of the fights so they have a bit more of a chance!"

"…you're an idiot." muttered the pale teen with an amused look, even as Selka tried to keep the smile off her face. "Both of you grab your things and meet me on the Gigas Cedar. I will make sure the gate's guard takes a 'nap'."

"Don't be too hard on the poor guy!" called out the gamer as they saw the green-eyed boy jump off the window. "…hey, Selka, do you know where they put my cape?"

Almost thirty minutes later, an impatient-looking Eugeo breathed a relieved sigh as he saw a familiar tea-haired girl rushing into the clearing, wearing casual clothes that at least seemed better fit for travel than her nun-like ones, and her hair free, a small bag on her shoulders…and a bundle of cloth in her hands.

"…what is that?" asked the pale teen with confusion.

"My Crystal Ball." explained the apprentice while partially showing the unusually shaped crystal, getting the green-eyed boy to raise an eyebrow. "It's a long history, I will tell you on the way…while you also tell me about yours."

"…heh, fair enough." smiled Eugeo with nostalgia, Selka having suddenly reminded him a lot of her sister with the tone in which she said those words. "And where in the world Kirito?"

"Ehm, he…"

"I'm here." spoke a familiar voice as a second figure made his way into the clearing, the pale teen looking in surprise while the young girl suddenly looked a bit shy. "Sorry for the wait, I was getting ready."

Walking towards then, the light of the Moon and the shadow of the Black Tree seeming unable to decide in which one he should be bathed, Kirito wore a slightly different look.

His cape was back on, for once, and he had torn off the sleeves of his shirt, then covered part of his forearms and his hands with white bandages, in a way that wouldn't obstruct his ability to use his fingers too much, but still slightly cover his knuckles (Like a boxer of 'his world' would do under his gloves).

"…what's with that getup?" asked Eugeo with confusion… also wondering why it looked so _right_ on the mysterious boy from another world.

"It's a reminder." was what the gamer answered while looking at his hands, closing his fists and imagining for a moment that the bandages were gloves. "Of who am I and what I'm swinging my fists for…now, let's get moving! The faster we do this, the faster we can save Alice, and the faster I can go back to my family."

"Okay then…from here onwards, we're all going blind. None of us knows what awaits us beyond this clearing, but most of it will likely be hostile. Are you ready?"

"No." sincerely replied Selka with a small smile. "But…I'm willing to try my best!"

"Then you have more than enough for it." honestly said Kirito while giving her a thumbs-up. "Believe me, I know."

"Uhm…what are you doing with your finger?"

"Ah, it's…a thing from my world, that…you know what, it doesn't matter now. We have the rest of this 'adventure' to explain things." sighed the black-haired boy before suddenly gaining a strange gleam in his eyes, walking towards the Gigas Cedar's base. "Now, before we go…"

"What are you doing?" questioned Eugeo with utter confusion, the young girl at his side also tilting his head in wonderment.

Taking a deep breath and concentrating as hard as he could, the gamer closed his eyes, reared back his fist…and _punched_.

A soft thud echoed through the clearing…before blood dripped down the tree's bark and Kirito cursed to the heavens, retreating his blood-covered right fist, the bandages quickly being stained red as Selka squeaked in worry and rushed to his side, ready to heal him.

"Ugh, fucking hell…yeah, should have figured it wouldn't be that easy." lamented the boy while the apprentice admonished him as she restored his hand. "Thanks, Selka…though I fear this is not the last time you will have to do that by a large margin…"

"Ahahahahah!" open laughed the pale teen before walking to them and offering him his hand, a bright smile on his eyes. "I'm not even going to ask what you were expecting to happen when you did that. Ready to move? We won't stop until the sun comes out."

"As ready as I will ever be…partner."

"Heh…that has a nice ring to it."

"I-I will do my best too! Also, Kirito, I still need to tell you about the visions I had these past days…"

"Well, don't worry, we have a long road ahead of us and we can…"

And as the voices of the three unlikely adventurers were lost in the night…no one was left to see the large cracks spreading through the Gigas Cedar's body, starting just where the unnatural boy's fist had left its bloody mark.

No one except the strange and abnormal creature moving through the ground, staring at the tree with 8 beady yellowish eyes.

For a moment, it pondered. Then, it communicated with her Mother.

 _"…yes, my child, you're right. He's not normal, even more so than one would expect from someone from Outside. Continue the mission…follow him."_

Just as she was about to obey…the small creature pondered again, before turning towards the Gigas Cedar once more, speaking through the mental link once again.

"Oh? Useful? Yes, this thing could be…very much so. It's immensely powerful, and now that it has almost no Life less…very well. Please, let me use you as a conduit for a moment, my child."

In answer to the demand, the creature GREW, until a now massive-sized abomination, almost as big as the dragons from the Integrity Knights, stood on eight limbs in the clearing, reaching out with two of them towards the dying tree's form.

A chant in the Sacred Tongue filled the knight, coming from far away and through the creature's body, from a voice that sounded impossibly young and strangely ancient at the same time…

 **[System Call. Change Element's Nature. Reshape external purpose…]**

The next day, when Solus' light came out once more, the people of Rulid Village would find 3 shocking things waiting for them.

One was that the savior of their village and the daughter of their chief had vanished.

The second was a letter written by said girl apologizing to everyone but saying she had no other option than to run away with him (Which would led to countless misunderstandings among the villagers).

And the last and, definitively, most shocking one…was that the ever-watching form of the Gigas Cedar had vanished without a trace, not even its roots remaining, a _massive_ hole in the ground the only testament the cursed tree had ever been there.

And it was with those events that a new Age for the Underworld was about to begin.

At the Edge of Reality, [DESTINY] stared down, even as the Chains kept growing and encompassing the Board, where the Black-White King, the Seer Pawn and the Undead Knight advanced forward, into a world filled with enemies and with allies as unlikely and hidden as their current situation.

All he could do was send them his best wishes, or the equivalent an Absolute One had of such, his previous attempt at communication having failed, way too many loopholes burnt just to try.

Even so…this wasn't a 'game' taking place in just one world.

Slowly, the youngest Absolute One looked towards the board under the first one, the pieces there also starting to move, blindly looking for their King, seemingly lost without him.

And all the while, the Chains continued growing, tightening their grip on Reality…

* * *

 **…**

 **…STARTING…**

 **…WARNING! EMERGENCY LOG!**

 **Fluctlight with a Blessing of Maximum Priority was detected earlier today! Fluctlight was identified thanks to having broken the Taboo Index and the Seal of the Right Eye, meaning that it's under no influence right now and could potentially be a serious danger:**

 _-Fluctlight #101167: 'Selka Zuberg'_

 _-Divine Blessing: LADY SHIBABAWA (Rank: ?). Experimental Blessing thought to have been a failure until know. It theoretically allows the affected Fluctlight to partially tap into the very root of the Acceleration System of the Light Cube Cluster to catch glimpses of 'events that have not taken place yet', essentially seeing the future, by staring with enough concentration into a reflective surface (The clearest the surface, the better). The imprecision of this Blessing's creation and the possibility of overload or spiritual damage to the very core of any Fluctlight was why it was theorized to have either been a failure or never awakened, but current events prove the contrary: Fluctlight seems to be fully aware and capable of using her Blessing to some degree._

 _Threat Level to the Underworld_ _: EX (Extremely High)_

 _-Status: The Fluctlight's Blessing seems to have 'mutated' thanks to an active attempt to suppress it, allowing it to activate with unknown accuracy when the user is sleeping. While this isn't the first or the rarest report of a Blessing 'mutating' because of a Fluctlight's subconscious Incarnation, that one of this level has done so is unheard of._

 **In the wrong hands, knowledge of future events could be catastrophic to the 'Project'. Even more, there is a high chance the Fluctlight in question has joined forces with the rogue Fluctlight 'Eugeo' (B: Zombieman) and the Anomaly (Tester 005). The chance of they running away and taking the Fluctlight with them to parts unknown is very real and cannot be accepted. This Blessing must be controlled by the Axiom Church…** _01101100 01101001 01100101 01110011_ **…for the sake of the Project.**

 **No Integrity Knights close to the area are available yet. None of the closest ones will be for at least 12 more hours.**

 **Soliciting immediate authorization to raise the Fluctlight's Priority Capture level to Omega.**

 **…**

 **…ADMINISTRATOR'S COMFIRMATION RECEIVED.**

 **RAISE IN PRIORITY LEVEL EXECUTED. ASSIGNING RETRIEVAL SQUAD.**

 **DEPLOYING 'SUBTERRANEANS'…**

…

…

…r…u…n…

* * *

 **Arc 1: The World down the Rabbit Hole** **-END**

* * *

 _Next_ …

 **While a Hero starts his greatest Journey…**

 _Asuna: It has been almost 4 days…why isn't there any clue?! How could this happen?!_

 _Yuuki: Asuna, calm down, please…_

 _Strea: Yuuki-chan…I don't think any of us can stay calm anymore…_

 **…others lose their path.**

 _The security guards lay on the ground, groaning, the receptionist backing away in fright._

 _Before his face, the tip of a shinai gleamed ominously._

 _Suguha: Where is he?! Tell me, where the hell is Seijirou Kikuoka?!_

 **And Hope seems nothing but a dream…**

 _Shino: Suguha-sama is losing herself…help me to stop her before she does something she regrets, Argo!_

 _Shiori: Can you blame her, Sinon-nya? All of us are desperate…she's lashing out in the only way she can…_

 _Shino: That doesn't make it right! I…I'm already trying my hardest with him gone…I will crumble down if I lose my only other hero…_

 _Shiori:…heh, how can I say no that face?_

 **…while Evil hunts in the dark.**

 _Xaxa: **Kirito…must…die…**_

 _Atsuchi: Yes, buddy, I know…you have only said it a thousand times…_

 _?: Let him be, Johnny. After all, it's about time we put that anger to good use…_

 **But, even in the darkest moments…light may shine through.**

 _?: Wh-who are you?!_

 _Yui: Koujiro Rinko. I'm MHCP-001, codename Yui. If you want to atone for having helped Kayaba Akihiko…hear me out._

 **Next time on 'One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate':**

 **Interlude: Hopeless Heroes**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Finished, yay!

And with that, the first arc of this fic is over. We have finished introducing the setting and background of the changed Underworld, Kirito has gotten a goal, new allies, and many mysteries haunting him, with more unexpected things coming his way. Can he make it through all that awaits him without being the One Punch-Gamer? Only time will tell…

Next time, our first Interlude! We will get to see everything that has happened in the real world since the end of Prologue 2, how the rest of the UHA is doing (Hint, not good) and everything else taking place out there. I want to give a special detail to this part, because, in my humble opinion, what little we saw in Canon of everyone's reactions to what happened to Kirito (Before it cut off to every Interlude being just Asuna being worried and hearing techno-babble she, and most of us, didn't understood 90% of the time) was very 'bland', considering he had all but been kidnapped and a few days had passed. I know they trust him, but given he had been about to die IRL and they knew nothing of his situation, I think Sinon and Sugu should have been shown a bit more worried in that scene of vol9.

Here, though…well, you all that are here have read through OPG. You know how close the UHA is and how much they all look out for each other, specific relationships aside, so…be prepared for some crazy shitstorms.

And with that ominous warning, I leave you all with our latest Omake! Let's see what else Heroic Spirit Kirito gets up to in the RWBY world OwO!

* * *

 **Omake: Capes and Roses 3**

Kirito tried very hard to resist. He really did.

After all, hadn't he already agreed he would keep a low profile and stay at margin unless it was _absolutely_ necessary?

This wasn't just a standard Summoning. It was weird in every sense, and not only for being a Planetary one.

No clear objective. No visible threat. No world-ending catastrophe in the horizon.

Unlike every single other Planetary Summoning he had gone through, there was nothing that made evident why Remnant had summoned, why the world wanted such a massive Omniversal Anomaly like him to prevent its supposed destruction.

Not really the best situation for him, especially when even simply communicating with his family was so limited by the nature of his Summoning. Besides knowing that a certain young girl would somehow be involved in it all, he had no clues.

That's why he had chosen to stay as far away as he could unless he saw something threatening either her, those close to her or the world itself. He had very few chances where he could willingly choose not to get involved in mundane things that would become unnecessarily complicated if a timeless Heroic Spirit, especially one as unusual as him, got in the middle.

He tried to do so back in Shinji's world. And while he liked to think he ended up being a very good influence and solving many of the problems from the emotional wreck that was that boy and his fellow pilots, it also cost him leaving them way too early, when the most unsavory people took notice of the Anomaly among mortals and tried to get rid of him.

They failed, obviously, and he put them and their 'Mass Produced Series' out of the picture, but doing so strained his by then already fragile vessel enough that he barely was able to say 'See you later' to the friends he had made there, and why he had decided on his current course of action. Especially after his slip during Initiation.

But the moment he saw a depressed Ruby Rose walking through beacon's hallways through a window, looking as if she couldn't lift her own soul? He was already by the girl's side by the time she had turned a corner with a depressed sigh.

Curse his unable-to-ignore-suffering nature. Then again, at this point he wouldn't really be himself without it, right?

"Hi there, Ruby. Nice uniform." casually commented the Hero while looking at the silver-eyed girl, who all but screamed in surprise at his sudden appearance, reaching out for a scythe that she wasn't carrying. "How is Beacon going?"

"Ki-Kirito?!" half-shouted the cape-wearing female (Still having on despite the uniform) while trying to calm down her heart. "Do-don't do that, you almost gave me a heart attack! …o-oh, and school is going…great. Yep, that's right, everything is super perfect right now!"

"…you sure?"

"Yep! Totally! I and my team made bunk beds for our room, the food is good, I'm finally starting to accomplish my dream of being a Huntress…" as she kept talking, Ruby's 'cheerful' smile started to fall, showing the sad and conflicted demeanor Kirito had already seen. "…and I'm not sure if I'm qualified to be a good Leader."

"Let me guess, Weiss told you that?" asked the Heroic Spirit with a sympathetic look.

"Wha…? Yeah, exactly that!" confirmed the Huntress in training with clear shock. "How did you know?!"

"I have…dealt with people like her before, so I assumed it was something like that." explained the caped 'boy' with a cryptic smile. "She looks like someone with a lot of pride and an iron-clad confidence in her abilities. I bet she expected to be the one put in charge in whatever Team she became a part of, and being denied that by someone two years younger than her probably didn't sit well with her. After that…am I right to assume it was something silly that ended up being the last straw for her?"

"Ma-maybe…I mean, I was fooling around earlier in professor Port's class (It was just SO boring!), then I tried to give her some advice when she volunteered to fight a Boarbatusk he had brought and…"

"And it totally helped her to win but it only made her mad at you?" at seeing Ruby's awed nod, Kirito couldn't help but sigh. "Yep, so much like her…"

"Like her?"

"Forget I said that that." quickly declared the Heroic Spirit, much to the girl's confusion. "Point is, this is more Weiss's problem than you not being qualified to lead your team, Ruby. Sure, maybe your apparent lack of interest for a single class didn't help, but she's judging you by her own, more than likely, very high standards without even getting to know you properly."

"S-so, you think I will actually be a great leader?" asked the red-wearing girl with a hopeful expression.

"I have no idea." happily answered the Hero, finding the way in which her face shattered to be hilariously cute. "Ruby, believe me when I say I'm the last person on the planet you should ask for such a thing. I mean, I was also made leader without my consent or any idea how to do it!"

"Re-really? You were leader of a Team?" asked the Huntress in training with a mix of curiosity and confusion, especially because the boy didn't look older than her sister or her friends.

"Well…not a Huntsmen team, if that's what you're asking. We were…more of an odd bunch that dedicated their lives to helping others doing the best we could." half-explained the Heroic Spirit with a nostalgic smile, feeling the warmness and agreement coming through his link with the rest of his family.

"Woah…that still sounds cool, I guess." nodded Ruby before looking at him again. "And…were you a good leader?"

"Honestly? I think I sucked at it. I mean, I was never good at making plans, forming battle strategies, and I can remember even once ordering them around in battle. The one who always shone on that was Asuna, no one was better at that job…but they still followed me." softly muttered the caped 'boy' with a soft smile, one whose meaning escaped the caped girl, but also filled her with endless curiosity and wonder. "They still stood by me, every single time, no matter what. And when it came down to it, they could be better Heroes than me in ways I could never dream of."

"That…sounds great." muttered the Huntress in training with a smile on her own. "You must really miss not being with them right now, right?"

"Well…let's just say I like to think they're always with me even when we're apart." grinned Kirito even as he felt faint amusement coming from his connection to the Throne. "What I'm trying to say, Ruby, is that there are many types of 'leaders', those that fit the standard definition and those that don't. Some may be geniuses that wear masks and lead a rebellion against an empire, some may just shout orders from behind a screen and be unable to join those they lead in battle and some may just have no idea about it but still do their best while smashing through obstacles…In the end, though, what I think is the most important thing any leader should have is the ability to truly understand those they're supposed to lead."

"Understand them…?" whispered Ruby while looking down, ignoring the urge to ask about the boy's very specific examples in favor of thinking about his words.

That…was something she could do, at least.

She already knew a lot about Yang. Blake was very silent, but she seemed nice, and probably didn't have any dark secrets beyond whatever books she read. And Weiss…well, that would certainly be a problem judging by their limited interactions so far, but being fair, she knew as much of the white-haired girl as she knew of her. Maybe they could end up becoming best friends!

…yeah, that last one seemed extremely unlikely, but how could she ever achieve her dreams of being the most amazing Huntress ever if she gave up before even trying? That was not how Ruby Rose did things!

"I see you have realized something?" asked Kirito with satisfaction at seeing a spark of something familiar within the girl's silver eyes.

"You bet I have!" grinned the Huntress in training while raising her hand. "Thanks a lot, Kirito! I may suck at what a leader is supposed to be by the book, but who cares about that? I'm going to do my best to become the greatest leader Team RWBY could ask for!"

"I'm glad to hear that, but I didn't really do much…"

"Oh, don't say, Mr. Kirito. I think your words were very inspiring." spoke a familiar voice from beside the pair, making them blink and turn to see none other than Professor Ozpin smiling amusedly at them. "I will even overlook you having illegally entered the school again because of how helpful they seem to have been for Miss Rose."

"…were you spying on us?"

"Spying is a bit of a strong word. I merely happened to walk by this hallway right now and couldn't help but hear your conversation." smiled the man with an amused twinkle in the eyes.

Kirito didn't need to be what he was to not believe a single word.

"…I see…by the way, is this window particularly expensive?" questioned the Heroic Spirit while pointing towards it, making both headmaster and student blink.

"No, not really. Why do you a…?"

"Later, Ruby!" interrupted him the Hero while turning and smiling at the girl. "I'm sure you're going to be a great leader!"

And the next second, he was gone, nothing but the smashed window and the glass raining around the blinking Ozpin (And bouncing harmlessly off his aura) as proof he had ever been there.

"…well, that was one hell of an exit." commented Ruby while looking out of the window, not seeing any trace of her strange first friend.

"Indeed…it would seem he doesn't like me very much, for some reason."

"We-well, I do like you, sir!" assured the Huntress in training while giving a smile to the man. "After all, it's not as if you're hiding some world-shattering secrets or anything like that!"

"…indeed, Miss Rose." neutrally answered Ozpin while sipping on a mug of coffee the confused girl could swear wasn't in his hands a second ago. "I'm totally not doing that."

Later that night, once back in her team's room and after reaching an understanding with a surprisingly humbler Weiss (Who seemed surprised on her own by her partner's sudden interest in getting to know her team better)…Ruby Rose would suddenly gasp just as she was getting in her bed.

"O-oh no! I totally forgot to ask Kirito how he did that thing to the Death Stalker!"

"Wait, you saw him again?" questioned 3 voices at the same time with different tones, making the caped girl realize she had said that out loud.

That night would be quite long and question-filled for the young Huntress-to-be…

* * *

 **Author's Notes 2:** Kirito may not even remotely be the best 'leader' one can ask for when thinking about the usual definition of the word (Something he shares with his Canon self very well XP), but he's one hell of a source of inspiration for others. And so, Ruby slowly becomes the first steps of change that he's unknowingly bringing into this world…there is no way that can go out of hand, right? I mean, just ask the Shirou who summoned him :P!

Until next time, this is Saint, signing off!

 _ **Editor's Notes:** Hey all, Pika here! I was working through this chapter a bit solemnly, as I realized that I will soon be very busy again with College between my soon to be increased workload and studying I will have to do. As such, I figured that it would be a good idea to get Saint's permission to just list my opinion of each chapter and any necessary schedule hiccups here for anyone who is wondering. As for the chapter, I am personally loving it so far. The mix between the two series is working shockingly well. As for issues when proofreading the chapter, I would say that my two greatest issues there would have to be having to sometimes assume that Saint wanted emphasis in certain places, as well as Saint's wording of some sentences being awkward at times. I tried my best to fix those lines so that the general reader will understand it more easily, so I hope that shows through. To be quite fair, my only question is why Kirito didn't just remind Eugeo and Selka that he was as much a criminal as they were, haha!_

 _Anyway, that is all from me for now! See ya'll later!_


	6. Interlude: Hopeless Heroes

Hello people! Saint here bringing you more of SAO's weirdest crossover!

Sorry again for the delay, but life has been quite exciting lately for me, what with finishing my studies and now work practices…also, Monster Hunter World ate a lot of my free time when I tried to 'relax', so that last one is on me XP

That said, I hope you all enjoy this Interlude between arcs, but before that, I would like to say something: As it's becoming increasingly obvious, both for readers and for me, this story's overall 'tone' is noticeably more serious and darker than the previous one. I'm still trying to incorporate pieces of the old humor and lightheartedness, but it's hard, and this interlude shows it quite well, what with the UHA's reactions to what happened to Kirito and my attempt to make them as 'human' as possible…

I like to think the overall quality of the story will make up for it, but because I know that's not everyone's cup of tea, and if you still don't know, I have started a small side-project called "One Punch-Gamer: UHA Chronicles" which will tell some fun/touching tales of things that happened to our heroes between the end of the last fic and the beginning of this one. First chapter has been up for a while, but the next one should be coming up not long from now! Hopefully that will be enough for those that miss the old 'tone' of the original One Punch-Gamer XP

Oh yeah, and don't forget to help out filling the fic's TvTropes page! It's certainly looking nicer every time :3

And that long-ass note said, I leave you now with the Interlude! Let's see how crazier things can get for everyone before The End comes…

 **PS:** This chapter hasn't been Betaed, sorry about that.

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Interlude: Hopeless Heroes**

 **April 1st, 2026. Former SAO Case Victims Rescue Force's Building, Japan. 22:35…**

That night, the city felt unusually colder and darker than usual.

Then again, it had been a few days since that strange 'feeling' had been gradually growing, as if something was _wrong_ with the world, as if something nobody had even noticed but was still a vital part of everything was suddenly missing.

For the scared receptionist that hid behind a counter shaking, haunted by the sounds of a 'fight', a bell ringing and of nanocarbon fiber hitting flesh, this reality was extremely clear.

Years back, when he had accepted this job as part of the SAO Case Victims Rescue Force, he hadn't thought he would be doing much. As fancy as being part of the aforementioned organization sounded, the reality was that there was very little they could do to help the victims trapped within Sword Art Online, and people at the bottom of the organization, like him, even less.

When the SAO Incident had been finished, the man had been sure his job would end too…but, surprisingly, it hadn't. The building in which he worked had been 'folded' into another government organization dedicated to prevent anything similar from ever happening again because of FullDive technology. As the incidents with Sugou Nobuyuki in ALO and then the whole 'Death Gun' debacle in GGO had proven, things weren't going to calm down anytime soon. The 'terrorist attack' a few months ago that affected Tokyo and caused a massive amount of property damage and several wounded had supposedly also been related to the virtual world, but there had been so much chaos and confusion over that event before most of the info was suddenly declared as 'classified' by someone very high in the line of command that there had been no conceivable way of making sure.

After that, though, things had seemingly calmed down, and it looked like he would be able to do his amazingly boring job in peace for a while…until the sudden call 3 days ago.

It was already very strange for the former director of the SAO CVRF, Kikuoka Seijirou, to call at this old building, and to call him, the receptionist, of all people, was already bizarre…but it had been the instructions the bespectacled man commanded through the phone what had truly set the simple worker on edge.

To inform him right away if anyone suddenly came asking for him, making sure to 'detain' the aforementioned person under any means necessary, though violence was 'supposed' to be the last resource until he could address the matter. Even more frightening, though, was the Document certifying the authority to do such a thing that the receptionist had received soon after, which also showed this was somehow related with something big in the government, though there were obviously no details included about what.

Four new 'security guards' had come and been stationed in the building right after that, though the man thought they seemed quite more serious and well-behaved than your average security. At that point, it was more than obvious that something way above his paygrade was going on, so he had decided to keep his mouth closed and do as he had been told. It would be better for everyone that way.

Or so he had thought, until like 10 minutes ago, when a figure riding a bicycle had all but stormed through the building's doors and, after skidding to a stop before the reception, had politely but coldly asked where she could find Kikuoka Seijirou.

Of course, by that point any calm thought had already vanished from the man's mind and, despite not really having needed to do so by then, he had jumped under the counter while screaming for security, the 'guards' already coming to reduce and apprehend the intruder, any thoughts of violence being the last resource having apparently fled their minds too.

However…

"Gah!" screamed what seemed to be the last of the men 'fighting off' the vigilante, somehow crashing over the counter and landing face-first besides the scared receptionist, who looked in horror as blood started to pool from under his face, probably from a broken nose…or so he hoped.

For a second, nothing could be heard within the building except for the man's ragged breath…before the, somehow, extremely menacing sound of a bicycle's bell made him scream and jump, trying to crawl away to safety.

He almost crashed head-on into a wheel for his trouble, and the tip of a shinai was pressed against his forehead a second later.

The receptionist didn't even try to pretend he wasn't crying like a terrified child, even as he slowly stared upwards into the reflective glass of the vigilante's visor, almost feeling the sheer _rage_ of the gaze hiding behind it.

Of course, there was no way for him to know that those same rage-filled eyes were currently red and swollen from crying. Especially as the voice that spoke next was devoid of any emotions, even colder than her previous tone.

"Where is he?!" demanded the Bicycle Girl while her hand slightly shook. "Tell me! Where the hell is Kikuoka Seijirou?!"

"I-I don't know!" cried the man while trying very hard to not faint from fear. "He…he hasn't been to this building in months, I swear!"

"Bullshit! Those guys that just tried to beat the crap out of me were either causally martial arts experts all of them or had some sort of military training! They're clearly here under his orders! Did he expect I would come?! Did he really think I would stop just from that?! ANSWER ME!"

"I-I don't know, really!" shouted the receptionist while closing his eyes, sobbing as he buried his face on the ground and covered his face. "He ca-called and told me to detain anyone that came asking for him, never anything specific about yo-you! That's when the security guards came! I-I really don't know anything else, s-so please, don't hurt me…"

Once again, silence reigned even as the man wondered how painful a strike from the famous vigilante's shinai would be.

"…tell him that it doesn't matter that he throws away his phone. That it doesn't matter that he goes off the radar. That it doesn't matter _where he hides_ …I will find him…And when I do, he will regret having taken Onii-chan from us."

When the shaking receptionist looked up again, he was all alone in the half-destroyed room, except for the 4 unconscious security guards.

"…for the rest of his life."

Outside, the night of Japan grew colder, and the stars seemed unusually dimmer, as if something was tightening its hold on Everything…

* * *

 **April 2nd, 2026. Alne, Alfheim Online. A small bar of the city, 09:20…**

It wasn't unusual for people to meet in one of Alne's many cafes. After all, even after the capital of Alfheim had changed to Yggdrasil City above the former capital and most of the game's focus had shifted to clearing Aincrad, this spot was still frequented for at least half of the players within ALO.

And, as weird as it sounded, it wasn't strange to see some of its 'celebrities' there. After all, even if they mostly operated in Aincrad, the members of the famous 'United Heroes Association' would usually come and go through many parts of the fairy world in their crazy adventures, and people knew and/or admired about them to keep an eye for such a thing.

What was strange, though, was to see just two of the aforementioned group alone, especially without their strange black-clad Navigation Pixie (Which more than one already knew, and tried not to question how, could turn into a little human girl with no fairy features).

Even more so with the dark and depressing aura that surrounded the usually cheerful Heroes, so ominous that not even the most curious dared to get close to try and overhear their conversation…if they ever broke the sad silent surrounding them.

Given that most of those present had either fought, or were friends with someone that had, in the 'War of Ragnarok', such level of respect was no surprise, though.

Finally, the silent and dark atmosphere surrounded the Imp and the Gnome was altered (If not broken) when a certain Undine walked in and sat beside them, a tired and despairing look in her face.

"…no luck yet, I take it?" asked Asuna with a weak smile as she looked at her friends.

"Nothing." spoke Strea with a tone so dead and empty that it almost made the blue-haired fairy cringe, even if she had been in that state for a couple days now. "And we had to stop the search early anyway because the Skidbladnir had no fuel left and…there was no one around to refuel it."

No further words were needed to explain that. After all, the proper 'refuel station' for the 'ship' was located in the Kirigaya household…and the only remaining inhabitant of it that knew how to operate it had barely been home at all during the last days.

In fact, none of them had been able to locate or contact her for over two now.

"So, Suguha wasn't home again when you left it, uh…?" mumbled Asuna while closing her eyes, her fist clenching in a show of hollow anger. "Dammit…how could we let this happen…?!"

"You didn't, Asuna. Please, stop thinking you did." softly spoke Yuuki with a sad but determined look, tightly gripping the handle of her golden blade as if to draw strength from it. "If anything, you and Suguha did more than any of us could have in that moment. What happened after that was…out of your control."

Internally, the young heiress knew that the Imp's words were true. After all, back then, during that terrible night, both of them had done the best they could and even saved Him together from what would have been a terrible death. If she hadn't hijacked that car and swiftly followed Suguha's instructions (Who was an expert at navigating streets at that point because of her vigilante activities) to go around the block and all but ram into the… _thing_ in which 'Xaxa' had become, then the monster would have without a doubt torn the boy they loved apart, the illegality of it all be damned.

But…they hadn't been fast enough to stop Johnny Black, Kanamoto Atsuchi, from injecting him with the 'True Death Gun'. They had literally felt him dying in their arms and almost felt their own hearts stopping when the ambulance had arrived and the paramedics carried him inside, screaming that his heart wasn't beating.

That's when they should have realized that something was wrong. When they didn't let any of them come in the ambulance with them.

Even if they could deny those present in the accident from going with the victim, she was already legally an adult. And Suguha was part of his family and had the identifications at hand to prove it. Telling them to wait for the police and give a statement shouldn't have made any sense.

Yet, they had been too in shock and too emotionally damaged to put much resistance, especially the younger of the two, who had quickly broken down crying as the chestnut-haired girl consoled her, even if she wanted to do exactly the same. They had stayed behind and waited for the police, with only the nigh-hysteric woman of the car (And the curious people that had come out of their houses because of the noise) as company.

It would be the mistake they regretted the most, hours later, when they stared blankly and with shock at the woman in the hospital's reception, telling them that no person by the name of Kirigaya Kazuto had been brought there.

A lot of calls, shouts, hours of confusion and fear, all of their friends being in a panic and several check-ups made by Yui and Strea had revealed a chilling truth.

Kirito…Kazuto had vanished without a trace. There were no records anywhere about any ambulance having been dispatched to the area…and, what was even more terrifying, apparently their call to the Emergency Services had been _intercepted_ by an unknown third party.

That none of the AI Sisters had been able to even come close to locating how or by who the call had been intercepted only made the group even more anxious, but all of it almost seemed like a background thought when the full reality of the situation had sunk in and consumed them all.

Somehow, their leader, friend, the one most of them loved, the one they could trust and count on the most…had been kidnapped and taken away for reasons unknown.

Everything had been a downward spiral after that. After the initial horror and despair had consumed them, anger and frustration had replaced it, the entirety of the 'United Heroes Association' looking for Kazuto's location with all their might, willing to remove Heaven and Earth if needed to find him.

…problem was that they had quickly realized that was easier said than done once they couldn't count on their 'powers' from the virtual world to get things done. The group of teenagers had been faced with their inability to do almost anything to find their most important person in the world.

Yui and Strea, the arguably more capable members of the group for such a thing, had exhausted every resource they legally had access to, and a few illegal ones, without any success.

The authorities had barely started looking for him, despite the madness of the situation, because there was no actual proof Kirigaya Kazuto had ever been moved inside an ambulance beside the word of 'two clearly scared by an attack teenagers' and a traumatized woman speaking nonsense about a red-eyed monster, so it had been needed 48 hours since his disappearance and a call from his actual mother for them to get to work.

Kirigaya Midori's reaction to her adopted son having essentially been kidnapped after having been attacked by a lunatic (The girls had decided to keep the 'monster' part from her for obvious reasons) hadn't been exactly pretty either. In fact, the only reason the woman wasn't at home right now was that she was currently setting everything on the place she worked at so that she could take several days off, which she would concentrate in doing her best to look for her son, no matter the consequences.

Asuna could relate to that feeling very well. After all, it hadn't taken her even 10 hours after Kazuto's disappearance to borderline beg her parents for help.

She had never cared much for the money they had, first because of her upbringing to just accept everything she was told about how to live and later because she had realized how there were much more important things in life than one's wealth or social status.

Even so, she couldn't deny that the connections her parents' possessed were things 'normal' people would never have access to, and, as such, she hadn't hesitated to all but plead for their help in finding her kidnapped 'friend'.

She was just glad of being in much better terms with her mother now, given that Kyouko had been more than willing to help, though the young heiress suspected she was more worried for how she was reacting and what could have happened to her than whatever could have happened to Kazuto, but Asuna was okay with that.

Her mother already knew how important he was for her…how she basically owed him her life in more than one way, and she was pretty sure she 'suspected' she had deeper feelings for him than what they shared that night in ALO.

However, the current situation was… _clearly_ not the best time for her to talk about her actual relationship with the boy, nor everything else it implied. Honestly, Asuna wasn't sure if there would ever be such a time, but what mattered now was to find and make sure Kazuto was okay.

But…it had all been for nothing. Despite all the effort they had put on all fronts, not even a trace of the One Punch-Gamer had shown up. Their anger was slowly giving way to hopelessness, despair taking over their hearts…

The fact that Suguha had all but vanished yesterday's evening after muttering she 'had a hunch to follow' didn't exactly help. Especially when all attempts to reach the girl after that had been met with failure. Asuna wasn't sure if she should feel worried, scared or angry at that…

"…where is Yui-chan, anyway?" asked the Undine while finally getting out of her recollections, looking at the two virtual dwellers and realizing the youngest-looking AI/Navigation Pixie wasn't present. "Did she stay behind for something or…?"

"Yeah, she did. She's with Tonky-san and our shy neighbor right now…Yui-nee hasn't taken our inability to find Kirito too well." explained Strea with a sad smile.

"I…can't blame her for that, really." mumbled Asuna while closing her eyes, before all but slammed her armored arms against the table in a sudden outburst, shocking many of the people in the bar and making both her friends look at her in surprise. "Kuh…dammit! It has been almost 4 days…we have done everything we can and more…how could this happen?! Why isn't there any clue?! Why…?!"

"Asuna, ple-please, calm down…" pleaded Yuuki while squeezing her gauntlet-covered hand. "You're making a scene and we don't want this spreading through ALO…"

"Don't blame her…I don't think any of us can remain 'calm' anymore, Yuuki…" whispered the Gnome present while closing her eyes and reaching out to hold both their hands, squeezing them as hard as she could. "Kirito…"

The other two girls remained silent, staring at the youngest of the AI Sisters with a mix of sadness and understanding. After all, she had been dealing with her own problems in secret not long ago, the aftermath of what the fight against Equinox (Where she had been forced to kill one of her 'sisters' to protect her 'true family') had done to her…and then she had found comfort in Kirito when he had noticed it before any of them, followed by…she fulfilling a certain 'promise' she had gotten from Suguha and Asuna not long ago, after which she had looked like the happiest being in existence whenever the black-haired boy was in her presence.

To see her like this now, as if the Sun of her world had been snuffed out…it was beyond disheartening and…

The sudden sound of a Message arriving got the three of them out of their current silence, blinking in surprise at having received one at the same time.

Exchanging a confused look with the rest, Asuna opened her Menu and brought up the mail…before feeling as if her heart stopped once she read it.

 _'Kirito's location is being purposefully hidden by the company Kikuoka Seijirou works for, Rath. He's in a super-secret facility known as the 'Ocean Turtle'. You will need Koujiro Rinko's help to get in I already sent Yui the information to locate her.'_

 _'Be warned, though, this may be very dangerous. Whatever Kikuoka's company supposedly does, it's just a cover for something way deeper. There are way too many important names and higher authorities involving to keep everything under wraps, but I managed to discover that they bought a copy of the Cardinal System's data from Ymir some time ago. Whatever 'Project: Alicization' is, it isn't something pretty or that they want anyone unauthorized knowing about.'_

 _'I will do my best on my end to find more, but know that I won't be able to help your directly if you go in there to look for him…which I know you will.'_

 _'Good luck, UHA. You will need it.'_

 _'From: Heathcliff.'_

"Kayaba Akihiko…" muttered Yuuki with wide eyes, almost unable to believe what she had just read.

"He found him…he found Kirito!" all but shouted Strea while standing up, her eyes suddenly filled with purpose as she looked at them. "What are we waiting for?! Let's go!"

"…thanks, Heathcliff." after whispering the words she had honestly never thought she would say, Asuna stood up, a similar look on her face as she nodded. "Okay then! Let's get Yui-chan to tell us how to contact this Rinko woman and…!"

"Help…please…" mumbled a familiar voice from behind the group, making them turn in shock to see a familiar blonde Sylph walking towards them with unsteady steps.

"Leafa?!" asked the Imp with a mix of relief and happiness as she shot towards their friend, grabbing her when she seemed about to fall down. "Woah, there! Are you okay?! You don't know how worried you have made us…eh? …Justice-san?"

Yuuki's words served to make the other two look into 'Leafa's eyes, noticing how they were of a powerful steel color instead of the usual green...and that they seemed abnormally tired.

"Justice?" asked Asuna while walking towards the avatar-possessing spirit/bicycle/blade/thing, a sudden apprehension filling her heart. "What's wrong? Where is Suguha-chan…?"

"Master…needs help…and she won't listen to me…" moaned the Sylph while looking at them with fear. "Please…make her stop…before she does something she regre-"

The words died in Justice's throat before she could even finish them, Leafa's body shattering into polygons and showing a 'Disconnection' message in her place, startling the 3 girls.

Back in the real world, having just eaten a meager breakfast and without having slept at all last night, Kirigaya Suguha rode out of her house, ignoring her bicycle's pleas for her to stop and rest, her bloodshot eyes fixed on the road ahead.

The Bicycle Girl would not stop until finding the one most important to her, unknowing that others had already found his whereabouts…

* * *

As she finally arrived before the small apartment's door that evening, the sun just starting to set, Izawa Shiori wondered for the tenth time why its owner had called her there.

Then again, anything that could help her think less about the current situation they were all. The uncertainty of not knowing where Kirito…where Kazuto was…

Sighing to herself as she shook her head, the virtual info broker decided to ring the bell and go ahead with whatever may happen.

She certainly wasn't expecting for the door to be opened almost instantly and someone all but dragging her inside, though. Blinking, the confused girl came face to face with a disheveled-looking Asada Shino, who seemed to be quite on edge.

"Man, Sinon-nya, are you okay?" asked Shiori with an attempt at her usual playful tone, though her current worries and the state the younger girl was in clearly impeded her from completely pulling it off. "You look like you had a terrible morning or some…"

"Take a look at that." interrupted the bespectacled girl with an exhausted yet worried tone, all but putting a tablet on the older girl's face before walking into the apartment.

Blinking, the info broker looked down at the device, her eyes widening and a noticeable grimace appearing on her face at the news article on the screen, immediately knowing what was wrong.

 ** _'Bicycle Girl gone to the Dark Side?!'_**

 _'Reports confirm that the famous vigilante attacked a private government building for unknown reasons yesterday night, injured 4 security guards and left a receptionist traumatized after threatening him. The Police forces have refused to make an open statement yet, but many people are in an uproar and the public seems split between…'_

 _"Fuck me sideways."_ ignoring the rest of the article in favor of following after her friend, Shiori found her sitting on her bed, several items she vaguely recognized as her own 'vigilante gear' and a half-eaten hamburger and soda lying around her as she seemed to be busy revising one of her arrow's tips. "Please, tell me that's not all you had for lunch."

"Too busy to cook something, had to improvise." mumbled Shino while putting the arrow away into her quiver.

"…Shino, when did you wake up?" questioned the sharp-eyed girl while crossing her arms, the lack of her usual 'nickname' actually giving the younger one pause.

"…around six in the morning, when I received the alert about that article…I have an alarm made to warm me if anything with the words 'Bicycle Girl' on the headline is published." offered the bespectacled girl for explanation while looking back at her friend, ignoring her raised eyebrow at the confession.

"…I see. And you called me here for…?"

"Isn't it obvious?!" half-shouted Shino while standing up, a fierce look in her gaze as she glared at the still calm info broker. "We both know Suguha-sama would never do something like 'seriously harming' or 'traumatizing' innocent people! Also, that building used to be the HQ of the SAO Case Victims Rescue Force! She must have been trying to find info on Kirito's whereabouts there, but something went wrong and…!"

"Yeah, under normal circumstances, that would be the obvious deduction…but these aren't normal circumstances at all, are they?" interrupted the older of the two with a serious look, making the bespectacled girl freeze in place. "Even if we swear we know Sugu-chan enough to be sure she would never harm people that did not deserve it no matter what, what's to say she wouldn't accidentally overdo something because of the state she's in right now? She clearly didn't even think of leaving something like your usual 'Cards' as explanation to the police…she's clearly not thinking straight.

"I…you…" looking down while gritting her teeth, the fierce image seemed to vanish and Shiori found herself staring not at the Strongest Player of Gun Gale Online or the vigilante called 'Feline Archer', but at Asada Shino, the young girl that had been alone and dealing with a serious trauma for most of her life until she had met a certain bicycle-riding heroine and then a bizarre boy that could end everything in one punch. "Suguha-sama…is losing herself. Please, Argo, help me stop her before she does something she regrets…"

"Can you really blame her, though, Sinon-nya?" challenged the info broker while staring at the younger girl with an unusual intensity, the one befitting more the one who had been acknowledged as the user of the 'Berserk' Unique Skill than the playful (If sometimes troubled) teaser she usually was. "All of us are desperate…and maybe she's lashing out in the only way she can, thinking that the 'Bicycle Girl' can do more to find Kii-bou than 'Suguha' ever can…"

"That…that doesn't make it right!" retorted the bespectacled girl while looking back at her friend, unshed tears glistening in her emotion-filled eyes. "I…I'm already trying my hardest to keep it together with him gone…I will…I fear I will really crumble down if I lose my only other hero…"

It was something Shiori knew the girl before her would never admit under normal circumstances. Not because she didn't trust them, but because she was too stubborn to do so. It was part of her nature.

And yet, now, she was so fragile she had openly confessed it. Not as a 'Heroine' or someone that was wildly different from the norm and had done amazing things in the virtual world…but as a normal teenage girl.

So, of course, what could the one known as Argo the Rat in that same other reality do but smile widely in response?

"…heh, how can I say no to that face?" rhetorically asked the info broker while walking forward and hugging her friend, Shino almost jumping in surprise at the unexpected gesture. "…why call me, though? I'm sure you would have been better off calling Aa-chan or even Phili-chan for something like this…"

"Well…they weren't the ones that managed to 'convince me' of the most outrageous decision I have done in my life, you know?" replied the bespectacled girl with a hint of humor, Shiori's face reddening at remembering how Strea had made it _her_ job to 'recruit' the younger girl into their crazy 'Happiness Plan'. "So…you're really going to help me find her?"

"You bet I am. I'm also worried about her, you know?" reminded her the older of the two with a smile. "…but I'm not wearing a costume."

"Wha…?! Why would you even bring that up?!"

"Given that you have your own and all of your 'superhero gear' around, I thought it was a fair concern…"

"I-it doesn't really matter; all that matters is that we find Suguha-sama! …though I had actually prepared something for you already…"

"Wait, what?! Are you serious?! I was just joking about the whole thi…!"

A sudden beeping noise coming from Shiori's waist stopped the quite hilarious and bizarre discussion. Blinking, the older girl reached for her phone and brought it to her face…before almost dropping it in shock, her whole demeanor changing immediately in a way Shino easily perceived.

"What's wrong? What does it sa…?"

"They found who took Kii-bou." the moment those words escaped the info broker's voice, the bespectacled girl realized she wasn't the only one who felt as if the weight of the world had lifted from her shoulders…but then tensed again at noticing a new edge in her voice. "He may be in deeper trouble than we thought, though. Also…we need to find Sugu-chan ASAP."

"…what happened?" demanded the younger girl with a grimacing look.

"Justice contacted them this morning, through Leafa's avatar. Asking for help to save her master. They say she looked… _weak_." explained the older girl while biting her lips "As if she was…vanishing."

After a second to process those words, Asada Shino nodded and, without a word, pointed towards her room's closet, before turning around and starting to gather her gear. Almost without conscious thought, Izawa Shiori walked towards the closet and opened it.

A gray and golden carnival mask, shaped in the image of some sort of demonic rodent, greeted her. Not even hesitating this time, she grabbed it.

Unseen, Reality shifted once more, its limits becoming looser and looser.

And above it all, the Chains kept tightening their grip…

* * *

As the last rays of the sun vanished from the sky and dark clouds started to cover the heavens, the black-haired woman couldn't help but have a foreboding feeling, as if something on the back of her mind was telling her she shouldn't be there.

Then again, it wasn't as if she had felt especially at ease in her modest home for years now. Perhaps the ever-permeating feeling of loneliness that filled it had something to do with that. Or maybe just the guilt she still felt deep within her, at least whenever she was not feeling apathetic.

As hilarious as it sounded, the last time she had actually felt 'relieved' at all was when she talked to HIM. That boy, who killed the one she loved. Who did so because he was a monster that had imprisoned him and countless others, and probably deserved worse than what he got, yet all she had felt was anger and regret.

Even more because, in the end, it hadn't been the boy with the cape who had taken his life…just his will to remain in this world.

After all, it had been Kayaba Akihiko himself who triggered the machine that scanned and fried his friend. The one known as 'Kirito' within Sword Art Online, no matter how insane and unexplainable his 'powers', hadn't 'actually' killed him…just indirectly.

Maybe that's why all she felt when she talked with Kirigaya Kazuto over a year ago, sharing Kayaba's thoughts and her own involvement with it all with him, was relief. Because she realized that, in the end, no one would judge HER for her sins. Not even the 'Hero' that probably had all the right to do so.

And that was why, even if she had indeed felt relieved and free, a part of her still felt guilty. Still waited for the other shoe to drop, for karma to catch up to her, for…anything.

She couldn't just be allowed to get away with it, right? To be forgiven for her involvement, as small as it had been in the grand scheme of things, with the SAO Incident?

Not even forgiven…but outright told she had nothing to feel guilty about. By Akihiko. By Kirigaya Kazuto…

What kind of fair Universe would let anyone like that get away with…?

 **DING DONG!**

The sudden sound of her bell ringing almost made the woman jump. Confused, she looked at the clock, noticing it was slightly past 8 already, and she wasn't expecting anyone.

Even as her earlier foreboding feeling increased and her recent thoughts swirled at the forefront of her mind, the black-haired woman walked towards the door and, gulping, opened it.

She certainly wasn't expecting to see two teenage girls staring at her with abnormally serious faces.

"…are you Rinko-san?" asked the younger one with the twin-tails with narrowed eyes.

"Ye-yes…?" replied Koujiro Rinko with an uncertain tone, her eyes darting from a girl to the other and wondering why her survival instincts suddenly were screaming danger at her.

"We're SAO Survivors." started the taller one with narrowed eyes…before the woman all but slammed the door on their faces after her words registered. "…well, fuck. Probably should have started with something else…"

"Really, Liz-san?" sighed the younger one before taking a deep breath. "Okay then, niceties over…WE HAVE THE HOUSE SURROUNDED SO COME OUT PEACEFULLY!"

"…and how is that any better, Silica?"

Within the house, Rinko had run all the way to her living room and was trying to get his heart under control, wondering why the hell she had reacted like that.

They were just two teenagers, for crying out loud! Sure, they said they were SAO Survivors and clearly knew who she was, somehow, but that didn't mean…wait, what did she say about her house being surround…?

"Please, open the door, Rinko-san." came an awfully calm voice from somewhere to her left, making her squeal in fear as she turned and saw a girl of brown-orange hair staring at her beyond the nearby window, what seemed like a sheathed practice sword (At least she _hoped_ it was a practice one) at her waist, blue eyes seemingly staring into the scientist's soul. "We just want to talk."

It could probably be blamed to her recent paranoia coupled with the terrifying situation that Rinko didn't believe her and instead opted for running towards her backdoor as fast as her legs allowed her.

Upon arriving there, though, she froze again, wondering if she had accidentally fallen asleep and this just some very elaborate nightmare.

There were 4 boys standing in her garden, just beyond the sliding (And thankfully close) crystal door, after all, looking straight ahead with varied expression, the older-looking of them speaking first.

"Okay, this may be going a bit too far, but really, don't run away screaming. We just need to talk to you for a bit and…"

"Guys! Should I break the door to pieces?!" came an unusually excited and also impatient voice from behind the boys, making the woman's eyes widen upon seeing yet another young girl, this one carrying a quite long baton, which she was gripping as if it was a spear.

This time, Rinko didn't even hesitate before running away upstairs, towards her room.

The gathered group sweatdropped, the older boy turning to look at their longtime female friend with a deadpanning expression.

"Seriously, Sachi? Could you have chosen something scarier or more criminal-sounding to say?"

"So-sorry, Keita, everyone…I just…Kirito-sama…"

"Hey, hey, we know Sachi, don't worry. All of us want to find Kirito as fast as we can…"

"…and beat the shit out of whoever kidnapped him."

"…yeah, that to…but that doesn't mean we should jump the gun and threaten the only lead we have with breaking down her door!"

"As Tetsuo and Sasamaru said, we need to approach this more carefully. We don't have any Stats or Skills to protect us here in the real world, after all…also, if she goes and calls the police right now, it's over."

"Well, isn't it lucky that we have some 'special' backup for such a thing, Ducker?" rhetorically asked the former leader of the once Black Cats.

Up in her room, after having locked her door, Rinko was breathing heavily as she grabbed her phone from the bedside table, dialed the Emergency Number…and got only a sound of 'dead signal' in return.

"What?! That…that makes no sense, this was working perfectly just this eveni…!"

"I'm afraid I can't let you make that call, Koujiro Rinko-san."

To her credit, the woman didn't scream with all her might at the unexpected voice coming from her phone, nor the face of a black-haired little girl shown on it. She did let it fall from her hands, though, and as such watched as the device crashed to the ground and broke apart into several pieces.

"…well, that's regrettable. If it makes you feel better, I promise I will pay you back double of however much that cost you." turning around at hearing the voice still, the scientist's eyes fell upon the laptop she had left turned on in her desk, the whole screen having been replaced by a white background upon which the little girl with the black dress now stood. "It's the least we can do for the troubles…and it would be easy for me."

"W-who are you?!" shouted the black-haired woman while pressing her back against the closest wall, as if fearing the portable PC was about to come alive and somehow harm her under the mysterious girl's power.

"Koujiro Rinko…I'm Mental Health Care Program-001. Codename Yui." Rinko's eyes widened to their limits as the words registered, recognizing the name and WHO owned it before the dots started to connect in her mind, the identities of the teens downstairs slowly becoming clear. "If you want to atone for having helped Kayaba Akihiko…hear me out."

"The 'United Heroes Association'…" whispered the scientist as if she couldn't believe it. "And you…one of two psychological AIs that went rogue and decided to help them in SAO…are you here to seek revenge?"

"If you know our name then you should also know enough to realize none of us would ever do such a thing." answered Yui with just the slightest hint of narrowed eyes.

"Well, excuse me for doubting it after you surrounded my home and practically threatened me to let you in!" retorted the woman with a slightly hysteric tone, anger starting to replace her panic.

"That's…not exactly what we intended, but I accept we may have overdone it with this. It's just…none of them…any of us, really, is thinking properly right now…we're all emotionally compromised, even me and my sister, but we're also ironically the only and best-suited ones to do this right now." mused the young AI while taking a deep breath as if to calm herself, surprising the scientist with the extremely human-like action. "…papa…Kirigaya Kazuto, that is, was kidnapped a few days ago when he was being moved to the hospital after being attacked on the street by former members of the red guild known in SAO as 'Laughing Coffin'. We have uncovered his position, more or less, but we need your help to even attempt getting him back."

"Ki-Kirito was kidnapped?! How…?! Wait…m-my help?" clearly trying and failing to keep up with everything being revealed to her, the woman looked at Yui with a mix of confusion and trepidation. "How could I ever help you in any way? I can barely keep a decent job because my involvement with Kayaba was kept a secret by the government; I have no authority to…"

"Kayaba Akihiko implanted a bomb inside your body and threatened you with it to help him…that's the official conclusion the agents that found you arrived to after your testimony and removing the 'bomb' from your body…except that it was never true, right?" interrupted the black-haired girl with an emotionless tone, making Rinko shiver in place. "Kayaba never threatened you at all…you willingly chose to help him when you found yourself unable to actually go through with your original plan to stop him. He put that 'bomb' inside you as a final gift before scanning his brain so that you would be found innocent of any blame for the deaths caused by the SAO Incident."

"…is that a threat? Will you reveal the truth and ruin my life if I don't help you?"

"No. I'm just trying to appeal to your human side…to the one that, if papa's words were to be believed after his talk with you, still feels guilty over her actions." softly explained Yui with a suddenly pleading gaze. "I'm a hero. That's how papa 'raised' me. I would never threaten someone unless they truly deserve it and, regardless of what others may think, I don't think you do…and if you did, I certainly am not someone with the right to punish you for it."

"What…what exactly do you need me for?" questioned the woman while sitting before her desk.

"If our…'sources' are to be believed, papa was kidnapped by Kikuoka Seijirou and taken to a top-secret facility belonging to the company he mainly works for, 'Rath'. The reasons he had to do so are unknown, but given that papa was injected with a toxin that would have killed him in minutes without immediate medical attention, we're not willing to risk trusting it was for a good thing." as she spoke, the oldest MHCP suddenly seemed way older than she looked, reminding the black-haired scientist that, as human as she looked, she was, in fact, a highly advanced AI. "No matter what we try, there is no way we could even come close to infiltrate such a place. For all of mine and my sister's abilities, this place is so isolated we could barely even find proof of its existence, let alone its location. Even if we did, I'm sure none of my mamas or uncles could be able to get there by themselves…which is why we need YOU to get us there."

"M-me?! Wait, please, this sounds way too much like the plot of some crazy spy movie! How the hell could **I** help you out with this?! I barely know Kikuoka Seijirou from when he interrogated me about my involvement with Kayaba, I could never convince him to…!"

"You can, actually. Even ignoring the fact that he was the first person to determine your 'innocence', there is something more: An old colleague of yours is working with him and one of the main minds behind whatever they're doing there; Higa Takeru." revealed Yui while crossing her arms. "You will ask him, because Kikuoka has suddenly gone 'off the grid', to see what they're working on personally, and in doing so you will let us infiltrate and recover papa!"

"Takeru? He's involved in this…? And…are you out of your mind?!" finally screamed Rinko while all but slamming her hands on the desk, startling the young AI. "Let's think for a second that we manage to pull this off. That the guys working on what seems like a super-secret and, more than likely, morally questionable project, especially given they have kidnapped a boy for unknown reasons, let me and one or two teenagers get into their top-secret facility without making enough questions to realize something is fishy! What then? How are you planning on getting Kirigaya Kazuto out of there? Do you think they will just let you go around freely once the jig is up? That they will not detain all of us or worse?!"

"I…we…" mumbled the MHCP with sudden uncertainty.

"Do you know what this is? Madness; and you should easily be able to see it! You were programmed as a psychologist AI, for crying out loud! How in hell's name could you even think a bunch of teenagers has even the slightest chance of pulling this off?!" relentless, Rinko pressed on, unwilling to not make her point clear. "This is the real world! No matter what kind of things you all may have pulled off in virtual reality, none of that matters here! You should go and tell all of them it's better to try and get the help of someone with actual authority instead of trying to do something stupid out of some childish prid…!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT US!" the sudden angry scream shook the entire room, almost throwing the shocked woman off her desk as she saw the furious tears falling down the virtual girl's face, a strange black 'aura' suddenly surrounding her. "You don't know the things we have gone through…the dangers we have faced…the things we have been forced to do…!"

 _With a last ditch attempt, Andvari screamed as she detonated the missiles, intent on destroying her…but it was all for naught as her psychic powers contained the explosions and then smashed them together with the remains of the virtual machine and her corrupted sister, the one that had once been like her and called Tomoe being obliterated by her hand…_

"…all of it…to protect each other…to protect everything we love…"

Frozen, Koujiro Rinko _stared_ around her room, fascinated horror filling her as almost every object on it was suddenly **floating** in an unsteady way, surrounded by a flickering black aura of seemingly unnatural origin…

Then, it was over as soon as it began, all things falling down in a heap just as Yui broke down into sobs, barely talking anymore

"We just…want to…I just want to…to save papa…to save my father…" cried the MHCP-001…no, the little girl called Yui, as she opened her teary eyes again, staring right into the silent scientist.

No matter how much she tried now, though, she was unable to see a program made to look like a person…just a child crying because she wanted her parent back.

 _"Was this…part of your dream too, Kayaba?"_ numbly thought the woman before finally speaking again. "You…how did you do that?"

"Eh? D-do what…?" muttered Yui with utter confusion.

"That…black thing…it was you, right? Who made everything in my room…float, just now?"

"Wha-what? Tha-that's crazy! What are you talking about?! There is no way…I can't…" suddenly grabbing the side of her head, the young AI seemed as if in pain for an instant. "I didn't….?"

On the back of Yui's mind, something _cracked_ further…

 **"[Reality's limits are blurring together…]"**

"O-okay, calm down! I…I will help you out." finally conceded the scientist while sitting down on her bed, feeling 10 years older all of a sudden. "I just hope this isn't the last mistake I make in a life filled with them…"

"Rinko-san…thanks." happily whispered the black-haired girl with a massive smile. "Forget the phone! When we save papa, I'm paying you 30 million yen as thanks!"

"…heh, good one there, Yui-chan." feeling her weak smile turn into a nervous frown when the honest one in the AI's face didn't vanish, Rinko suddenly felt more than uneasy. "That was a joke, right? Like…there is no legal way you could have that much money at all…right?"

Her only answers were more smiles.

Five minutes later, the group of teenagers that had been surrounding the woman's home was making their way back to their homes, having gotten a nervous promise of how she would get in contact with Higa Takeru that night and tell them what happened as soon as she could.

"Well…that went better than expected, even if way more nerve-breaking than I thought too." confessed Toshiyuki while letting out a tired sigh. "I swear; we're too young for shit like this…"

"One could say the same about you dating Siune-san, Keita, but you don't see any of us saying anything." countered Saori with a small smile. "Also, I think we went WAY past that limit back when we fought against Equinox and her daughters…"

"He-hey, how many times must I tell you that we're not dating?! W-we're just really good friends!"

"Please, Keita-san, not even Yuuki-chan believes that." snorted Keiko with a shake of her head. "And that's saying something…"

"When even Silica can call on your bullshit, you know you're defeated, Keita." grinned Rika while giving the oldest boy present a peace sign, ignoring his complaints as his other male friends started their usual routine of making fun of his 'not-relationship', even if it was more of an attempt to relax the mood than anything else. "…so…who are going to go? To save Kirito, I mean."

Silence immediately fell among the group, though it was more of a deeply serious than a tense one.

Finally, though, one of the most unexpected people to say such a thing broke the silence with a surprising declaration.

"If we're being realistic…it would have to be you and Asuna, Liz." softly declared Saori with a determined look in her eyes. "You're the oldest among us and, as such, the ones with the best odds of not being discovered when disguising as someone older accompanying Koujiro-san to find Kirito-sa…kun."

"Yeah, and trying to go with more than 2 of us would be too suspicious, sadly." reasoned Kenji while crossing his arms. "I would like to suggest one of us went with one of you girls, but besides knowing you're quite capable of handle yourselves, only Keita would be even remotely able to realistically pass up for an adult and…uhm…"

"You don't have to mince works, Tetsuo: If things got messy, I would completely suck at trying to help getting us out of it." accepted the older boy with just a hint of bitterness. "If we're thinking along those lines, though, it would be the best if we could get Suguha to go…"

"…yes, indeed. After all, no one would ever think Suguha-san as a little girl…" mumbled Keiko with a faraway look in her eyes.

"Aaaaand, before we lose Silica again in one of her usual episodes, does anyone know if they even found Suguha already?" curiously asked Takuya while looking at the rest.

"Last I knew Sinon and Argo said they were going out to find her. Asuna would have joined them right away without thinking of the consequences, but her parents called her in that moment to talk about not having been able to get any info on Kirito's whereabouts and she had to go and pretend she was actually sad…it would be messy if they suspected what we're planning." commented Kotone before getting her phone out, staring at the pensive if smiling girl shown on it. "Any update on them, Yui-chan?"

"None sadly, Philia-mama, but don't worry, I will make sure to tell you right away if something comes up!" cheerfully replied the virtual girl before looking to the side. "…tomorrow will be a big day, so I think I will go to GGO and spend some time with Arfy-chan, if that's okay with you? It's been almost a week since I last visited her, since papa…you know…"

"Go ahead without worries, Yui. We will tell Strea where you are if she asks." assured Takuya with a grin on his own, before his smile turned softer after the young and happy AI vanished from the orange-haired girl's screen. "She really looks as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders, uh?"

"No surprise there, Ducker. She has been worried sick like hell since Kirito vanished and, unlike us, she and Strea can actually go on without sleeping if they want to…Yuuki technically too, but she's just too conditioned to sleeping from when she still had an actual physical body to even try to." reminded him Yonaga with an understanding tone. "Also, she ended up pretty much being the 'MVP' tonight, so if anyone deserves a break with her friend/creepily devoted AI servant, it's her."

"While that last comment was unnecessary, Sasamaru, it's true that Yui-chan always cheers up after spending some time with ArFA-sys." chuckled Rika while shaking her head and keeping a hand on Keiko's shoulder, as if making sure her old friend kept her head straight and didn't crash against anything while mumbling about unfair Ninja Ways and other things typical of her. "Let's just hope it keeps her in a very good mood, because depending on what happens next, all of us may end up arrested or worse for crimes against government secrecy."

"…if we can save Kirito-san, though…it will be worth it." finally spoke the youngest of the group with a fierce gaze.

And in that, everyone silently agreed.

After all, it went beyond the fact that they all owed their life in one way or another to the black-haired boy. Or that they were close friends. Or that they loved him.

Every single one of them owed who they were as people in that moment to him. To his bizarre and charismatic way of acting guiding them, even if he never meant to from the beginning. And all of them were only as happy as they were thanks to him.

They wouldn't hesitate in going to hell and back for him, no matter what.

And as they kept walking in silence, none of them could see how, for a fraction of an instant, the heavens seemed to wink out of existence to be replaced by infinitely growing Chains.

Reality and its limits kept breaking more and more, unseen by anyone…

* * *

It was a decent apartment, despite not being too big. It had light and running water, all basic commodities a person would need, and, despite being on Tokyo's outskirts, it was in a relatively nice and peaceful-looking street.

Yet, despite all of that, not a single soul could be seen on the street surrounding it. As if some sort of unnatural aura emanated from it and made everyone instinctively avoid being close to the place, as if something within them was telling them it was _not safe._

Given what lied within its walls, though, this much was understandable. Especially if one could look at the bizarre sight of the biggest room in the apartment, one side filled with many monitors and the other with boxes of diverse takeout food, one of which was still half-full and currently being eaten by the only 'human' inside the darkened room.

"…hey, you sure you don't wanna eat anything, pal?" asked Kanamoto Atsuchi to the other 'creature' in there, which was currently sitting on the darkest corner, only its uneven breathing and the crimson-red dots it had for eyes hinting at its presence within the darkness.

 **"…Kirito…must…die…"** growled the being in which Shinkawa Shouichi had become.

"Yes, Xaxa, I know. You have only said it like a thousand times." groaned the man unkempt man while rubbing the medical compress he had over his nose.

"Come now Johnny, don't be too hard on our old pal." came a smooth and controlled voice from the room's door, making Atsuchi stiffen and the blood-like eyes of Xaxa to zero into him. "After all, it's about time we put all that anger to good use, don't you think?"

The man that stood there somehow seemed to drain all the scarce light from the building, as if his very presence was somehow darker than anything in the room, even that of the inhuman monster of red eyes. His face was exotic, with clearly foreign features compared to your average Japanese, surrounded by ample black wavy hair, and could even be called handsome, his smile as smooth as his bewitchingly dark voice.

But one glance was more than enough for anyone with enough awareness of the world to know there was something _sinister_ about that man. Something unexplainable that would draw others to him in the way a moth would fly towards a flame, if the flame was alive and had actual evil intentions.

His name was Vassago Casals, a name many would think meant his parents didn't like him very much or something. For 'Vassago' was the same name as that of one of the 72 Demons from the Ars Goetia, the one known as the ' **P** rince **o** f **H** ell'.

And it was for such a name that the two killers in the room had known him and worked for so long ago, playing as 'villains' in a Floating Castle…and, it seemed, once again now.

"PoH…you're actually back." mumbled the unkempt man with slightly narrowed eyes, putting aside his remaining food and raising an eyebrow. "Also, why do you mean? I have told you many times now that idiot Kirito is dead. I injected him with the freaking 'Death Gun' in the middle of a street, he was already collapsing when Xaxa got us out of there, there is no way…"

 **"No…he still lives."** growled the inhuman creature while walking out of the darkness, sinisterly tall and with most of its features hidden by the ragged cloak covering it…him. **"I can feel it, deep within me…I won't rest until I have seen his cold corpse…and tear it apart."**

"See Johnny, I'm more willing to believe our friend with the skeletal face than you in this matter. If he says Kirito is alive, then he most likely is." calmly spoke Vassago as he walked towards the many monitors on the room's end and started fiddling with a screen. "After all, it wouldn't be the first time our dear 'Superhero' manages to pull off the impossible, would it?"

"That's different! This is the real world; he doesn't have any of his super-bullshit in here!" protested Atsuchi while clenching his teeth in annoyance. "He can't just have survived that stuff being injected into him in the middle of a street!"

"And yet, not only did he manage to break your nose and escape our dear friend Xaxa here without a scratch beyond that; he also managed to somehow vanish from the face of Earth. Quite strange, don't you think?" continued the black-haired man while looking down at an email he had received. "Besides, can you even talk about 'impossible' anymore with what you're seeing right here?"

As if he had been waiting for that cue before speaking again, Xaxa _moved_ in that unnatural way of his, so fast that the other man in the room almost didn't see him until he was standing behind their so-called 'boss', more menacing and terrifying than anything most men could imagine.

Vassago didn't seem impressed, though, even as he turned around to see the deformed 'needle'-like arm of the inhuman being hovering inches from his face.

"Wha…? Xaxa, the hell are you doing?!"

 **"You…I should kill you where you stand."** growled the red-eyed abominations while his skull-like face peered from the darkness of his hood.

"Oh? Care to share why, Xaxa?" calmly replied the black-haired man while casually flickering a piece of trash away from the table behind him.

 **"You abandoned us…back in SAO. If it benefits you…you will do it again without a doubt…"**

"Now, now, my friend, don't be a hypocrite and tell me you wouldn't have done _exactly_ the same if you had been in my position." challenged Vassago with his sinister grin widening, the growls of annoyance coming from Xaxa only seeming to amuse him. "Besides, you should be grateful I did. Otherwise, you would still be rotting in that psychiatric hospital or worse, and Johnny would be dead or having done something extremely stupid that put him behind bars."

 **"Look at me! Would have…escaped easily…"**

"And then what, genius? Rushed like crazy through the streets screaming Kirito's name without a plan? How long would it have taken until people got tired of screaming and 'running from the monster' before they deployed enough people with enough firepower to take you down?" rhetorically asked the black-haired man while his eyes seemingly shone with an unseen malice, all but pushing away the mutant-arm without care and putting his face an inch from Xaxa's one, the skeletal visage not unsettling him at all. "Face it, Xaxa. You may not be able to trust me, but I'm your best bet for getting to Kirito and killing him without getting yourself killed along the way. After all, you may be all fancy monstrous now, but I would bet…"

As those words came out of Vassago's mouth, the inhuman creature suddenly found himself with a massive butcher knife an inch from his neck, just over the small crack between his ever-growing skeletal 'armor' and the soft pale flesh that remained of his human form.

"Holy…! When the hell did you…?!" all but shouted Atsuchi at the unexpected visage, unsure if he should try and do something.

"…that you're still pretty much mortal if I cut your neck open." calmly finished the man that had called himself Prince of Hell in the virtual world, almost rejoicing upon the hint of hesitation, a still very much human emotion, in the 'monster's eyes. "So…wanna find out who would die first if we try it out now?"

For a moment, there was nothing but tense silence, the inhuman being that was Xaxa staring with a mix of rage and the slightest hint of fear towards the ever-grinning and uncaring, yet very human in comparison, face of Vassago.

Then, the moment was over and he backed off, retreating his monstrous arm back into the depths of his cloak and giving his back to the sinister man, acknowledging him once again as his 'leader'.

 **"…I will still follow you…for now."**

A cold and soul-chilling bout of laughter was his answer, even as the other resident of the apartment sighed in relief, unsure of what could have happened it things went differently.

"And that's all I ask for, my friend. Besides, we may have hit the jackpot." casually continued the black-haired man while turning around, back to the screen he had been looking at before. "Remember those new 'bosses' of mine I told you about?"

"You mean, the same ones that gave you the resources to find Xaxa, the equipment for me to keep an eye on where he was, and this place? The ones that were 'interested' in him after the whole Death Gun thing?" asked Atsuchi while tilting his head. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, I just got word back that I managed to convince them I wasn't pulling their legs and got them to believe in the 'unnaturalness' of our dear friend Xaxa here." continued the former leader of Laughing Coffin while turning to 'smile' at his old subordinate. "See, originally they just wanted to see if I could recover him to ask about how exactly he had pulled off what he did in the BoB, more specifically how he managed to 'harm' others using the AmuSpheres…but now they have a 'bigger' interest in him, and we got the go-ahead for a 'job' that could solve all our problems."

"…what kind of 'job' are we talking about here?"

"One as dangerous as it's rewarding. If we pull it off, we will get enough money to be settled for life without lifting a single finger…even our monstrous pal here, doing whatever we want." ignoring the way in which Atsuchi's eyes lit up at the prospect, Vassago continued as he walked through the room. "Basically, there is this super-secret place they want to get into, and to steal…forgive me, 'appropriate' of a certain piece of super-secret research this country's government has developed and that they're not interested in someone else having…"

"…is it the Americans?" the unexpected question actually made the black-haired man and deadpan at his most vocal subordinate with a raised eyebrow.

"…why would you even think that?"

"It's always the Americans who try to do these kinds of things in movies and stuff, or at least the ones behind it." was all that Atsuchi had to offer for an explanation while shrugging. "Also, wouldn't a place like that be, like, super-protected? The kind of protection that would kill us before we got even close?"

"In a way, yes, hence why the money they're paying is so high. Also why they originally were going to send an entire team of professionals to attempt it, but apparently things in their security had been changing weirdly the last 3 months or so and also the one that was going to lead the operation suffered a chronic depression out of the blue or something." explained Vassago while casually shrugging off. "They were actually thinking about canceling the mission until now. For them, we're expendable, easy to cover assets that won't be missed if we die and that have no way of being tracked back to them. Also a way of not wasting the infiltration method they had already prepared."

"…sounds fucking." great sarcastically commented the one that was known as Johnny Black back in Aincrad. "And why would we even attempt what looks and sounds like a suicide mission in every way?"

"Because, my dear friend…" started the black-haired man while his gaze moved towards the last member of their 'group', Atsuchi's following cue with sudden realization.

Once again silent except for his unnatural breathing, Xaxa was casually examining his left arm, now covered in bone-like growths, his fingers now more like skeletal claws that were still growing.

"…we actually have a chance to pull it off."

"…oh." was all that the younger man said before walking towards the inhuman being. "What do you say, Xaxa? You up for causing some crazy mayhem and messing with the government's stuff?"

 **"…as long as I…get to kill Kirito….I don't care."** was the cold reply from the red-eyed creature. **"As I said before…I will follow your orders as long as you help me achieve that…PoH."**

"Excellent!" 'cheered' Vassago while turning around. "Now let me get back to them and tell them we're ready for…!"

Xaxa's head snapped to the side in that moment, making quite a disturbing sound as he all but shot towards the room's window, staring outwards into the night, and making the two men in the room look at him with surprise/curiosity.

"Xaxa? Something wrong, buddy?"

 **"It's close."** growled the inhuman being in a strange tone. **"Something…someone…like me."**

"What?!"

"Oh? That sounds interesting." spoke the most twisted man in the room while walking closer to the abomination. "Are you sure?"

 **"Yes…no. It's…not quite like me. Close, but…still human. Still…attached."** without even thinking about it, Xaxa reached out and opened the window, crouching slightly as he did so. **"…I will be back."**

Then, ignoring Atsuchi's screams of his name, the inhuman being jumped out, vanishing into the night faster than what it thought the unkempt man to reach the windowsill.

"Fuck." groaned the virtual poison-user while facepalming, turning to look at his 'leader' with a worried luck. "Think he really will come back?"

"Beyond any doubt." instantly replied Vassago while turning around, casually reaching towards something half-buried under the many empty boxes of takeout food. "I'm more interested in what he said, though…tell me, Johnny…how do you think Xaxa became what he is now?"

"Eh? Are you seriously asking me? I have no idea, really…drugs? Shady experiments? A deal with the devil?" after listing off the clearly craziest things he had managed to think of, Atsuchi turned with confusion towards the black-haired man. "Why would you even ask?"

"Well, you know, I'm just curious…"

Idly, Vassago Casals looked down at the manga tome in his hands, watching the bald-man with the cape and jumpsuit punching through a monster in the cover.

His grin turned even more twisted as he casually crushed the aforementioned image.

"…if it can be replicated…"

Slowly, Reality's limits kept breaking, in the darkest way possible…

* * *

The dark clouds that had started filling the sky earlier now seemed as if they could discharge a brutal storm at any moment. In fact, any place in Tokyo that wasn't illuminated by electrical lights was covered by a deep darkness and silence, as no one would want to still be out when the first sights of lightning bolts and thunder started.

Except, of course, for those that thought the night and the silence would benefit their purposes, and whose unsavory deals were more valuable than getting a bit wet because of the rain.

The several unconscious men strewn across the alley, though, had quickly realized this hadn't been a good idea. And even the one that had clearly been in charge, a man in a dark suit, was currently on his knees, panting hard as he dropped his honest-to-God katana to the ground, staring through his broken sunglasses to the figure standing a few meters from him, his legs clearly unable to move anymore and his weapon's arm looking bent in the wrong way.

Finally, whatever strength he had left seemed to abandon him and he fell down, his face hitting the ground as slurred words escaped him.

"I…I thought you were just…a joke…or a small-time lunatic…but…you're actually…a monster…aren't you…? Bicycle…Girl…" were the last whispers coming from the clearly dangerous criminal before he fell unconscious.

Now nothing but her ragged breathing still making noise in the alleyway, the vigilante wobbled on her feet and used her damaged shinai as a crutch, her left hand immediately shooting towards her right forearm, wincing in pain at feeling the wound there.

That had been a very close call, and another failure, but at least she had stopped…whatever it was these guys had been doing. She wasn't sure what exactly it had been, now that she thought about it, whether it was dirty money, drugs or something shadier, but at least now they had been stopped and wouldn't hurt anyone else with their actions.

It mattered little, though, for it hadn't gotten her any closer to her goal. She still needed to find…

 _'…ter! MASTER!'_

"Eh…? Justice?" mumbled Kirigaya Suguha as if coming out of a daze turning around and turning around to look at the bicycle resting against the nearby wall. "Why…why are you screaming…?"

 _'Oh, thank the Heavens, you snapped out of it!'_ cried the living vehicle while shaking slightly, sounding incredibly relieved. _'I have been calling out for you for the last 5 minutes and you didn't even seem to notice!'_

"Wha…? You were?" questioned the young kendoka while sounding honestly confused, shaking her head as if to dispel the mental cobwebs she felt were filling it. "I can't…quite remember…the last hours are a bit hazy….must be the lack of sleep…"

 _'Do you really think is just that?! Master…I know I'm the 'unnatural' one here of the two, and that me calling out impossible things is very hypocritical, but…you just beat a fucking Yakuza in a swordfight!'_ all but screamed Justice with clear distress, making her 'master' blink and look down at the finely dressed man not far from her, recoiling upon the sight of his badly-beaten face. _'I could have gone with the 8 thugs armed with just cheap blunt weapons without complaint, wouldn't be much different than a busy night for us, but them AND the dude with the REAL katana?! You know I think you're the most awesome person on the face of this planet, but I know you_ shouldn't _have been able to win a fight like that in the real world!'_

"I…did I really beat him…?" whispered Suguha with clear disbelief on his face. "He…must have been some cocky bastard carrying a sword to feel important…nothing more…"

 _'Suguha-sama…I saw the entire fight. That guy knew how to swing his blade, hell, I thought he was going to run you through or behead you more than once during the whole thing!'_ protested the spirit/bicycle/blade/thing with a clear urge of worry in her voice, making the young kendoka bit her lips as she tried to remember, but only felt a growing headache incoming. _'Please, you need to stop…it has been over 30 hours since you last slept, you're wounded and…and my voice seems to have more and more trouble reaching you the more you keep going. I'm…I'm scared, master…that you're going down a path I can't follow you through…'_

For an instant, a flash of lightning illuminated the skies, the roar of thunder following seconds later…and allowing, for a moment, to see the girl's shadow warp into a tall and sinister visage, with dreary wings and filled with nothing but empty drive.

Suguha's head snapped back, looking down at her perfectly normal shadow while wondering why she had felt a terrifying shiver running down her back…before quickly shaking her head and dragging herself towards her bike once again, a hand still over the slightly bloody arm of her coat.

"I'm sorry, Justice…but I can't stop. Not yet…not while he's still…out there, lost, with that Kikuoka bastard doing who-knows-what to him…"

 _'Master, please, you don't even know for sure if Kikuoka has him!'_

"Then how comes he _just_ so happens to go off the radar and any number of ways to contact him vanish at the same time Onii-chan does?! Why did he get 4 guys with actual military training to guard, attack and detain anyone who went to the same building I visited for like 2 years to get info from?!" shouted the black-haired girl before slumping, her back hitting the wall beside her bicycle as she fell on her ass to the floor. "…sorry, Justice, I didn't mean to shout at you, it's just…I let it happen. All that I have done, all the promises I made when I saw him wasting away during SAO, even before realizing how much I loved him…and I was still unable to do anything to protect him. Again, he had to be the Hero who saved the day…and this time it hurt him worse than ever…he may even be…snif…"

 _'…Suguha-sama…I'm sure Kazuto wouldn't want to see you destroy yourself like this, not even for his sake. He would want you to be fine no matter what, so that he can greet you with one of his stupid smiles when he's back like nothing happened…'_ actually surprised at the gentle tone and the use of her adoptive brother's actual name from the living vehicle's part, the young kendoka looked back towards her in shock. _'Besides, you can't tell me you really think we're going to find him by doing this…how many criminals, from petty to serious ones, have we beaten up in the last day? And how many have been helpful in finding him?'_

"…way too many, and none." groaned Suguha in answer while she grabbed her helmet's side, wincing slightly at the pain that caused in her injured arm. "Movies and manga make it seem so easy, but no one ever actually talks when you try to interrogate them. They always try to hurt or kill you and I have to knock them out without getting any answers. Huh…ma-maybe you're right, Justice…maybe I actually need to calm down and…"

"Yeah, please, do exactly as the talking bicycle says…and holy shit, I can't believe I actually just said that." came a familiar voice from the end of the alley, making both the vigilante and her supernatural partner's attention to snap towards it, seeing a cloaked figure with a strange mask standing just at the shadow's edge. "Just shows how crazy my life has gotten since I got involved with your brother, Leafa-chi."

"…Argo-san?" asked the young kendoka with complete disbelief as she saw the cloaked figure walking towards her, a strange rodent-like mask on her face and what seemed like fighting gloves covering her hands. "What…what are you dressed at?"

"I wanted to call her 'Berserker Rodent', but she was having none of it. Insisted she would hit me if I called her anything other than 'The Rat'." Spoke another familiar voice from above the pair, making the younger one look up in shock to see a familiar figure in a hoodie, with a bow on her back and a bokken on her hips, standing on the small fire escape of one of the alley's buildings. "…I'm so glad you're okay, Suguha-sam…Suguha."

"Sinon-san…" muttered Suguha as she saw the younger girl slide off the emergency stair with practiced grace, then all but rushing to her side. "Ho-how did you find me…?"

"With lots of effort and info-gathering that no normal person could have pulled o…Oh God, is that blood?!" interrupted herself Shiori with sudden horror as she all but ran to her friend's side, suddenly seemed both serious and scared. "What happened?!"

"It's just a flesh wound, really…you should how the other guy ended…" weakly joked the young kendoka before wincing as Shino looked at her wound through the slashed coat with extreme focus.

"Yeah, we can kinda see it…" dryly answered the archer while looking around at the unconscious men, her scowl deepening upon seeing the one with the well-dressed one with the very real katana at his side. "And if you must know, we found you by following the trail of scared criminals. They're surprisingly more willing to at least point in the right direction to costumed vigilantes when they think they're also going to be beaten if they don't. Also, we're getting you to a hospital right now."

"What?! N-no, you can't do that!"

"Like hell we can't! What were you thinking, fighting a guy armed with an actual katana using just a bamboo sword?!" screamed Shiori while she reached inside her cloak for her phone, both angry and worried. "I don't even know how the hell he didn't just cut your own blade to pieces!"

"Nanocarbon shinai…very resistant…" weakly answered Suguha while raised the damaged and gashes-filled, but still very much complete, practice weapon. "My old one would have broken without a doubt but…Onii-chan gave me this one as a gift some time back…"

"Suguha, hear me out…you don't need to keep doing this. At all." seriously told her Shino while grabbing her shoulders, the intensity/excitement in her eyes actually catching all of the young kendoka's attention. "We got a message from Asuna this evening…they found where he is. They found Kirito."

It was as if the whole world stopped being dark in that single second, a 'light' that had almost been snuffed out returning to the vigilante's eyes as she all but jumped to her feet, reaching out for her friend/admirer with a hope-filled gaze.

"Re…really?! Oh…oh heavens, thanks…! Please, Shino-san, tell me! Where…?!"

 **"Where…is Kirito…?"**

And suddenly, all the darkness in the world seemed to return, the dark and inhuman voice accompanied by another roar of thunder and the first drops of water starting to fall from the sky.

Slowly, the three girls' eyes moved as one towards one of the alley's buildings, then up the side of its wall, finally stopping on the red-eyed abomination staring down at them from its roof's edge.

Then, it jumped down, bouncing from wall to wall as if it was some sort of bizarre insect before landing a few meters from them in a crouch, uncaringly crushing one of the unconscious men's arms, making him wake up and scream in pain.

The creature known as Xaxa kicking him aside, the body slumping against the wall, unconscious once more, before his crimson gaze once again focused on the three paralyzed females.

That seemed to be enough to make one of them snap out of her shock, though, the reignited light in her eyes turning into fire as she glared at the inhuman creature.

"YOU!" screamed Suguha before rushing forward faster than she had ever done before, so much she seemed like the wind itself for an instant, her blade coming down to hit the abomination straight in the head. "It's because of you that Onii-chan…!"

 _'Master, watch out!'_

The warning came too late, as the inhuman being whipped out its deformed needle…no, estoc-like arm even faster than the young kendoka moved, intercepting her shinai with seemingly no effort even as her shocked grayish-blue eyes found themselves locked with the soul-piercing crimson ones of Xaxa, the now completely skeletal face somehow seeming alive in a way that nothing which looked so much like Death should.

 **"Disappointing…you're so close, but you're unable to take the last steps…you're still too attached to what makes you 'yourself'…"** snorted the abomination before, with a push, sending the vigilante flying, the girl's scream being short-lived as she crashed on the ground and had to let go of her now even more damaged shinai from the pain. **"You refuse to realize…that only by discarding something as useless as 'humanity'…can you reach the 'power' needed to fulfill your objecti…"**

A blunt arrow slamming painfully against the monster's forehead interrupted his monologue, a grunt escaping him as his gaze moved towards the angry-looking form of Shino as she knocked another arrow on her bow, even as Shiori all but rushed to Suguha's side to help her stand again.

"Don't touch her, you bastard!" screamed the youngest IRL vigilante of the UHA before shooting again, this time aiming straight towards one of Xaxa's red eyes.

It seemed that the same trick wouldn't work twice, though, as the inhuman creature all but jumped over the arrow just as it was halfway towards him, the dark-haired girl's instincts being the only thing that saved her as she raised her composite bow and stopped the estoc-arm from cutting into (And probably _through_ ) her, screaming as the pressure forced her to one knee and she saw how the expensive materials which made her weapon started to crack under the abomination's strength.

 **"You…I remember you…"** snarled Xaxa with a hateful glint in his eyes as he glared down at Shino's shaking form, the girl refusing to show fear despite how much she was starting to feel inside. **"That bitch Kyouji was obsessed with…the one that helped Kirito during the BoB…I'm going to enjoy showing him your broken body when I kill…"**

"LIKE HELL YOU WILL!" roared 'The Rat' while slamming both her fists into the inhuman being's back, wincing at feeling something way harder than skin under the ragged cloak that covered him, pain shooting through her knuckles as she did so. "Fuck! What are you made of?!"

 **"…was that supposed to…impress me?"** snorted the monster while easing the pressure on his current victim to look at Shiori in amusement…

…in time to see her massive grin when the distraction worked, her sloppy attempt to imitate a 'Berserk' Skill in real life being forgotten as the Bicycle Girl shot past her side, reflective glasses slightly cracked and reflecting the glint of steel in her hands.

Xaxa couldn't even react when Suguha rammed the yakuza's katana into his side with a shout of rage, only her lack of familiarity with the weapon's weight out of the virtual world preventing her from running the inhuman creature through, the Japanese blade still easily sinking halfway into his body's right side.

An scream that seemed more like the maddened roar of a wounded beast _exploded_ from the abomination, the monster suddenly moving with uncanny ferocity as his until-then-covered left hand shot from the depths of his cloak as he _spun_ in place, throwing both Shino and Shiori back several meters as the clawed arm covered in bone-like protrusions yanked the original vigilante from her feet and painfully raised her from the ground, seemingly ignoring the katana sticking from his side in favor or roaring at her as she struggled to breath.

"GA…aggggh…!"

"SUGUHA-SAMA!"

 **"Bitch…die…!"** shouted Xaxa while rearing back his weapon-like arm, aiming straight to the young kendoka's chest…

"NO!"

With a scream that seemed to echo through the entirety of Tokyo, Izawa Shiori shot to her feet, tearing off her mask (Which had cracked when she fell down) and lunging forward with desperate drive.

Almost in slow motion, the mask reflecting a demonic rodent fell down, even as the oldest girl present raised her arms, knowing she wouldn't make it in time, knowing that even if she did there was nothing she could do to stop the monster, that she had no claws to drive with maddened power into her enemy in this world, that at best she would only get herself killed too…

But…

 _Her leg was gone and her hands too, her claws lying close but completely out of her reach, unable to do anything but glare in hate as Heathcliff stopped acknowledging her existence and walked to face Asuna, as if she was nothing in his eyes now…_

But…!

 _Pain filled every fiber of her being as her own claws were impaled in her belly, a mix of pride and regret filling her as she saw Sachi finish off Eve, the girl with the lance smiling as her tortured body vanished from Utopia, the whiskered one cursing having been unable to do more than give her the key to beat the AI that had been twisting their reality…_

Still, she had to…!

 _"…nee, Kii-bou…do you think I'm a burden to the group?"_

 _"Eh?! Why…why would you even think that, Argo?!"_

 _"I mean…I was never a fighter in the first place, remember? I'm only here in the Front Lines because I joined up with you all, and I only became actually useful after I gained Berserk. You know how information is still what I do best, so…sometimes I wonder if I'm not just dragging people down with my subpar fighting skills…"_

 _"…Argo…that's probably the most honest and most stupid thing I have ever heard you say."_

 _"Heh? Did you actually just call me stupid?"_

 _"Well, excuse me if you're being it! Point is…why do you think you ended up with the 'Berserk' Unique Skill?"_

 _"…because I triggered whatever hidden requisite it needed by overusing Martial Arts in a specific way?"_

 _"Ehm…maybe, but want to know why I think you did? Because…it suits you, in a very strange way. As you yourself said, you're not a 'fighter'…but you sure as hell are a warrior. You may not be skilled with any weapon like the others, but your fists…your 'claws' are a vicious weapon in its own way, kinda like my fists. That Unique Skill just gives you the extra-edge you needed for this World to realize how lethal that actually is."_

 _"…geeze, Kii-bou, you really are something else, uh? Only you could find such a convoluted explanation for something so silly…"_

 _"Hey, I was just doing my best! Also…why are you smiling if you think it was useless?"_

 _"Heh, no reason at all…no reason at all…"_

Tears running down her eyes as the last memory vanished from her mind, the girl's scream seemed to intensify as she took another step forward, unwilling to see her friend, and one of the most important people in the world for the one she loved, die before her…

Her discarded mask crashed into the ground in that moment and, for seemingly no reason, shattered into a thousand pieces.

Reality screamed too, as something on the back of Izawa Shiori's mind cracked further, and the edges of Impossibility blurred more.

With a pain unlike nothing she had felt before, whisker-like marks burned themselves into her face out of nowhere, and, suddenly, she was there, her fists burning with pain and a familiar viciousness as they slammed into Xaxa's side, the sound of bones cracking echoing through the alley as the inhuman abomination staggered in shock.

Then, the shouting girl's fists came back, ignoring the blood covering them as they tore into her enemy with the fury of a mad warrior willing to protect something, uncaring of the damage they inflicted to themselves.

One. Two. Three…all the way to ten hits, the fists of the Berserker slammed her fists, her _claws_ into the abominations side, making it let go of Suguha as the last one sent him rolling into his side and made the katana fully pierce his body.

 _Fangs Storm._

Feeling tired and with her hands covered in blood, her knuckles all but destroyed, Shiori fell to her knees, gasping for air while trying to recall what had just happened.

Howling like a wounded predator, Xaxa staggered to his feet, feeling the 'bone armor' that had covered his body where the girl had hit all but destroyed, countless pieces of it digging into his pale flesh in painful ways, never mind the blade now fully impaled on his body, blood and pain dying his ragged cloak.

 **"Yo-you…!"** growled the inhuman creature before freezing at hearing the distant sound of sirens, suddenly aware of how weak he felt and what could mean if armed officers came upon the scene. **"…this isn't…over…"**

With that last pained declaration, the wounded monster jumped towards the closest wall and skittered upwards, jumping into the rooftops and vanishing from view.

Barely a couple seconds after he was gone, Shino rushed towards her friend's side, stopping her from falling over as she helped her to her feet.

"A-Arg…Shiori…how the hell did you do that?" asked the archer with utter shock.

"What…? I…what did I do…?" whispered the clearly distressed girl while trying to focus past the strange headache she was feeling.

 **"[The barrier between Possible and Impossible…is breaking…]"**

"…never mind that now. I got you." assured the younger girl while walking towards where the last member of their group still lay on the ground. "Suguha-sama? Are you…?"

"I'm…fine. Just…a bit tired…" mumbled the young kendoka while staggering to her knees, looking towards the panting info-broker with a smile. "A…Shiori-san…thank you. You just…saved my life…"

"No need for…thanks. I can barely even…recall what I just did, really…" joked Shiori while raising her gaze from the ground and towards the younger girl. "…also, my hands feel as if I just put them through a meat grinder."

"Uhm…they actually look like it too…also…did you pain whiskers on your face when I wasn't looking on my apartment?"

"What? What are you talking about…?" weakly questioned the oldest girl present while reaching towards her face with a hand, only to wince at the pain that caused in both her limb and her, now that she was aware, burning cheeks. "Kuh…!"

"Okay…that settles it. Let's get moving, I need to get you two out of here, of those costumes and to a hospital right now." sentenced Shino while reaching with her free arm to help Suguha to her feet.

"Wha-what?!"

"Sin…Shino-san, you can't…!"

"Of course I can! You have a freaking sword-wound in one arm and probably more than one nasty bruise under those clothes, and Argo here seems to have scrapped her knuckles all the way to the bone, not to mention the rain is getting even worse, so no excuses! Now, let's get out of here before the police find us, I need to think of who to call to pick us up and a convenient story to tell at the hospital that doesn't cause your parents a heart attack or the authorities to question us…then I can freak out when the reality of everything that just happened actually hits me…no, wait, let's leave that for after we save Kirito…Justice-san, can you help in any way?"

Several impossible rings of a bicycle's bell were her answer.

"…I till take that as a yes, so hold onto her, Suguha-sama. Now, where did I leave my phone…?"

And as the 3 wounded girls and one bicycle exited the alleyway, none of them, nor any other sentient being on Earth, noticed how the heavens seemed to flicker out of existence for a moment as the rain intensified, showing endless **Chains** tightening their grip on Everything…

On a rooftop far away, the creature known as Xaxa finished removing the katana from his body, growling as the blood slowly stopped flowing from his body, what hadn't killed him only making him stronger as more bone-like growths started to cover his damaged flesh…

Ten minutes after that, Yuuki Asuna would thank whatever Gods could hear her that her parents had been busy enough that night to not be at home, given that no one could stop her from 'borrowing' her brother's car and risk being detained as she drove towards Tokyo with urgency, intent on picking up her friends and getting the full story of what had taken place.

Slowly, the Time remaining kept diminishing…

* * *

Kikuoka Seijirou sat in his chair, staring idly at the monitors as he caressed the damaged piece of fabric in his hands, a habit that he idly realized had settled into him during the last months.

Once again, his eyes gazed into the many views of the imposing city that could be seen on the screens, from its beautiful walls to the 4 absurdly massive ones that came from it in each one of the cardinal points, extending towards the horizon, and the even more impressive white tower in its center, rising towards the heavens and out of view…

But what truly drew the bespectacled man were the 'people' inhabiting it…or, more exactly, the people's lack of reaction to things that, in the real world, would have been beyond abnormal.

Like the many humanoid and muscle-bound creatures of brownish skins and strange 'heads' that patrolled the walls and even seemed to stand guard upon the entrance of important buildings, only three oversized fingers in their massive hands. No one spared them even a single worried glance, and a few children even waved at them when passing, which the creatures answered by waving back.

Then, a figured wearing knight-like armor seemed to descend from the tower, four crow-like wings growing from his back as he descended upon a wall, making gestures and apparently saying something to the dozen or so creatures in that area.

Immediately, they nodded and half of them jumped off the wall, falling into the earth outside the city and, as if they were some sort of mutant moles, digging into it and under the dirt, vanishing from view in seconds. Instants later, the holes they had created vanished and grass even grew back where they had been, as if an unnatural spell kept the earth from showing that they had just been there.

And once again, no one found this strange at all, though many people looked towards the winged knight with a mix of respect, awe, and fear as he nodded and flew back towards the heavens.

"…the true power of us human beings is that we can change ourselves in our own, uh…?" whispered Kikuoka while looking down at the object in his hands.

The singed and slightly burnt white _cape_ offered him no answer, as always.

"Kiku-kun? You there?" turning around at the familiar voice, the government officer saw how none other than Higa Takeru walked into the room. "Oh, you're watching Centoria again? You never get tired of that, do you?"

"What can I say…there is something special in watching the 'Human World's central capital that I can't find anywhere else…" vaguely answered the Kikuoka while looking once more back to the white city. "…sorry, did you want something?"

"Oh yeah! Well, you see, Rinko-cha…that is, Dr. Koujiro just called me! You remember her, right?"

"Yes, Higa…I don't think it would be possible for me to forget the woman Kayaba forced to help him." replied the bespectacled man while rolling his eyes towards his subordinate. "What did she want?"

"Well…she said she wanted to take a look at our work!" grinned the man with a massive smile on his face, making his boss raise an eyebrow in surprise. "Remember how I told you some time ago her help could be quite valuable for the Project?! This is a golden opportunity!"

"Yeah…and I'm sure the long-time crush you have had on her doesn't have any influence in your opinion of that." snorted the officer while rolling his eyes, ignoring the embarrassed blush and denials coming from Higa in order to look to the side with a frown. "Still…this timing is…"

"Huh? Something wrong?"

"…no, nothing." answered Kikuoka while standing up. "Tell him that, if she accepts to sign all the secrecy-related documentation, she's more than welcome to come. Now, onto more important matters…how is the Equinox Cycle running today?"

"O-oh, it's going…well. All systems and subroutines relating to it are at top capacity, at the rate it's going it will have infected…I mean, affected 99% of the Underworld's Fluctlights within 10 years of Accelerated Time…" replied the spiky-haired man with sudden uncertainty, as if the current topic bothered him especially, even as he followed the taller man out of the room. "…the Final Tolerance Experiment will arrive much earlier than that, though."

"Indeed…to think that, a few months ago, thinking about that brought nothing but the thoughts of hopeless failure, but with how drastically things changed in the Underworld since then, I have to wonder…" muttered the officer while walking down a massive corridor, a strange reflection visible in his glasses. "…which side will exterminate the other first?"

"…it's honestly difficult to imagine or determine at this point." was all that Higa said before looking away, biting his lips. "Seijirou…can I be honest with you? I think…these last changes to the Project have started to affect me. It…happened again. I swear I could hear _her_ scream when I was looking over the Cycle's status yesterday…"

"Takeru, you did it again. You referred to the Equinox Cycle as a 'her'." reprimanded Kikuoka while looking at his friend with a sympathetic smile. "It's nothing but a program we broke down and reconstructed out of a broken mess. Any sentience it had before (And remember that it wasn't exactly a friendly one) is more than gone. Besides, never forget that everything we're doing here is for the Greater Good."

"…you're right. Sorry about that, Kiku-kun, I guess I'm just not getting enough sleep lately." lamely excused himself the spiky-haired man while scratching his cheek…before freezing upon realizing where they were just as his superior stopped before a thick glass-panel, looking at the room within with a neutral gaze. "Ah…should have known you were coming here."

Within sat a very large and rectangular cuboid machine that, along with the console and cooling equipment, took up almost half of the massive room (Nearly reaching the ceiling at the top), the aluminum that made most of it giving off a dark grey-silver glow and an eerie mechanical feeling. Attached to it, there was a 3-meter-long gel bed where a protruding helmet-like interface completely covered the area above the shoulders of the person currently 'connected' to it. On its side, a logo of the manufacturer, just the simple words 'Soul Translator' in English on its side and a large number on top (Identifying it as '004') could be seen.

And the boy that was currently lying on it, seemingly in a peaceful slumber, was none other than Kirigaya Kazuto.

The medical equipment also attached to him and several screens showing his vital signs shattered any illusion of a pacific rest, though.

"…any news about his condition?"

"Nothing that you don't know already, Seijirou. The process is continuing within expected parameters and nothing is going wrong, but…it's brain damage we're talking about here. Even with the Soul Translator keeping his Fluctlight intact, there is no guarantee this will work. It's all experimental." explained Higa with clear uncertainty. "His 'soul' won't be able to return to his body if his brain doesn't properly recover."

"Yes…I know that." sighed the taller man while shaking his head and turning around, giving his back to Kazuto's body and to his subordinate as he started walking away. "Keep me posted if anything changes, though. I want to be the first one to greet him and remind him how many laws I broke by taking him here to save his life."

"…and if he can't wake up again?" asked the spiky-haired man without a hint of humor, unable to continue the attempted joke of the officer.

Kikuoka Seijirou stopped before replying.

"…then we can at least turn up the Acceleration and let him live the equivalent to the rest of his natural life in the Underworld. It may not be…easy, but it's the only comfort we would be able to give him."

Those words said, the government officer kept walking away, leaving Higa Takeru to stare silently at the body of the Hero of SAO and, if the rumors were to be believed, also the one that had prevented a virtual apocalypse from taking over the world.

 _"I hope that, whatever you're doing now, you're enjoying it, Kirigaya-kun."_ thought Kikuoka as he vanished in the depths of the massive facility he was currently in _. "Because it may very well be what you do for the rest of your Life…"_

Above and outside, the storm ragged, thunder and lightning covering the skies as seemingly endless rain fell from the heavens.

On a forest where it was also raining, a black-haired boy covered himself and a young tea-haired girl with his cape under the shadow of a tree, a small fire nearby kept alive by the silent form of a green-eyed boy, who didn't seem to mind the cold, rain or the lack of sleep.

Within the virtual sea known as the Internet, the form of a man wearing a lab coat stared silently at countless screens before, after countless lines of Code had been inputted, one illuminated with the words 'Project: Alicization – Access Granted'.

In the waiting room of a hospital, several teenagers waited for news about their friends' states while also plotting how to find and save their leader…

And on its Throne Above Everything, [FATE] shifted slightly, the metaphorical sand clock behind It cracking and shaking as the last of its shards started to fall, the Conceptual Chains growing faster and faster with every instant of that Timeless Plane.

Looking with distaste to the every-instant-more-shattered Reality of the Universe at which they went, and all the effects _that_ was causing on the Limits of Possibility, the oldest Absolute One **expressed** Itself.

There were no words. At least none that any being within the Omniverse could ever understand. But it was enough of a Statement for Reality to recognize it and acknowledge it, like an Absolute Order.

 _[In-Universe Time remaining for Reality's Purification…72 Hours]_

At the Edge of Reality, [DESTINY] felt the Universe he was staring at shake as, ever-so-slowly, it started to be torn from its Multiverse's Network, by the never-ending chains.

Looking down once again at the board with the closest to anxiety and sadness a being of 'his' nature could muster, the youngest Absolute One looked away from the part of the board that represented the 'real world', once again staring at the one showing the chained King and the two other pieces standing by him.

Slowly, two lost and scared pieces were closing in on them, a meeting that should have taken place under very different circumstances about to happen anyway.

With less than a whisper, he watched as the Rook and the Bishop labeled as 'monsters' stumbled forward…

* * *

 _"…why did you stop?"_

 _"Ah, forgive me, Golden King…you just suddenly seemed quite shaken for this part of the story, so I wanted to see if you needed some time to…"_

 _"I told you not to call me King, Storyteller…and I'm fine. I was just…surprised by some of the events, nothing more. Now…continue this tale. I wish to know everything else…"_

 _"Heh…be sure you won't regret it later, Golden Requiem. Now…let me tell you about Heroes and Monsters…and how blurred the lines between both were in the place called Underworld…"_

 _In the storm-awaiting night, the Story resumed once again…_

* * *

 _Next…_

 **Let me tell you a story. One about a corrupted world…**

 _Kirito: Why does everyone look so…tense?_

 _Selka: I…I don't know…_

 _Eugeo: They can feel it. That something is wrong…yet none of them will even bother to acknowledge it._

 **…one where those recognized as 'Heroes' served an unfair oppressor…**

 _The knight stood before the crowd, his armor seeming to reflect all of Solus' light while the two silent humanoid creatures stood at his sides._

 _?: By order of the Axiom Church, anyone who has any information or clues about the Fugitives' whereabouts must immediately report it to the nearest Subterranean. Not doing so will be considered with the same gravity as a violation of the Taboo Index…_

 **…and those that opposed their role were labeled 'Monsters'.**

 _Finally arriving at the area with the broken trees she had seen in her vision, the young girl stopped, staring at the two figures lying near the roots of the smallest one._

 _Both were wearing 'caped', though very different in style, and the shortest seemed to be desperately trying to help the tallest one to stand._

 _?2: Please, just a little more! They're right behind us, we can't let them catch us now!_

 _?3: S-so…hungry…_

 _?2: I know you are, and I promise I will get you something to 'eat' when we're in the clear, but now you need to get up, T…!_

 _Selka: Uhm…d-do you need any help?_

 _The shorter of the two froze, her blue eyes moving to stare at the Seer with horror._

 _Slowly, the taller one raised her head, an inhuman hunger reflected in her red eyes, making Selka take a step back at seeing the fangs in her mouth._

 _?3: HUNGER…_

 **Next time on 'One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate':**

 **Chapter 4: The Two Fugitives**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And that's done! Man, talk about a long interlude, uh?

A lot of questions are probably popping up because of this chapter, especially with the ending scenes, the major of which is probably why Saint insists on reminding us about those seemingly unrelated characters of the prologue that are hearing/telling the story. The answers to all of that will come…later!

Onto the Interlude itself, as said, quite darker than usual, but also with the gleam of hope that comes when a way is found. I think the reactions of the UHA were quite natural and proportionally different to show how different they are, and as such react, from their Canon counterparts. Talking about Canon SAO/Alicization, those who have read it can probably easily tell how the difference in events from the ending of OPG1 are affecting things, especially with Kikuoka being scarily more competent than his Canon-self. Will that affect the Heroes before everything is said and done? Only time will tell…

Finally, what's probably the highlight of the 'chapter', and that's in a way the key point of Chains of Fate: In Canon Alicization, it was to show how fragile and, sometimes, meaningless the difference between the concepts of 'Virtual' and 'Real' was, and how much more it became the more the arc advanced. Here, though, it's to show how Kirito's actions have caused that effect on the concepts of what's 'Possible' and 'Impossible', and how they're finally spiraling out of control both for the good and the bad.

Those of you who are long-time One Punch-Man fans like me probably understand a bit more of what's slowly happening to their world (And to understand why [FATE] has been so adamant in erasing it before it 'spreads further'). Anyone remembers what happened to Shirou from the F/SN Omakes because of 'seeing' Kirito's life? Yeah…in OPM, nothing is scarier than the 'Heroes' and the 'Monsters' that came from, literally, 'the plot itself'…those that weren't created or forced, but 'wished upon'…

Well then, that's all for now, everyone. No Omake this time because this is already almost 20K words long and I don't want to bore you (Besides the fact that it's an Interlude XP). I will see you next time in the second arc 'Of Heroes and Monsters', when 2 certain Alicization characters appear in a very unexpected and twisted way…but before that probably in the next one of UHA Chronicles (You may have noticed some events teased here that weren't expanded upon, which will, obviously, be shown there). Time to see if I can write an M-Rated chapter worth a damn (Got to say, I wasn't really surprised when that one won the poll XP)!

Until next time, this is Saint, signing off!


	7. Chapter 4: The Two Fugitives

Here we are, everyone! Welcome to Chains of Fate's second arc!

First of all, I would like to thank once again to everyone that's reading and enjoying this story! We went over the 100 reviews in the last chapter, which I consider to be an important mark, and so far it seems most readers are enjoying this new-level madness of mine :3! Even if it can't be as funny as the first one was most of the time, I'm trying my best so that this sequel is as epic, or even more, and that the story's quality is up to standards XP!

Also, happy to see Strea's chapter in UHA Chronicles was so well-received, I was very nervous the first time I considered the idea, but it turned out pretty well in the end on all senses :D (Just a small reminder, all the events from UHA Chronicles are canon to this fic) Let's keep all of this going, people!

Back on topic, with this new arc we enter the most 'original' part of the story. Except for characters and some settings/unchangeable things, from here onwards we totally derail from Canon Alicization for quite a while, and that will become very obvious very fast, so I hope you're ready for quite a wild ride. The UHA is going through their own ordeals IRL, but their leader isn't going to be having a calm or happy time at all like Kikuoka thinks…

And with that said, I leave you all with the newest arc! (And remember, help filling the TvTropes' page is always appreciated :3!)

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Arc 2: Of Heroes and Monsters**

 _"But 'He' was different. An ordinary birth, an ordinary life…just a normal person with no talent or potential. Through effort alone, he pried open the door of his limits and broke his 'Limiter'…"_ – Dr. Genus, the Ultimate Scientist.

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Two Fugitives**

 _The rain falling down between the trees was terribly cold, the wind blowing with almost ominous strength._

 _However, the humanoid creatures 'hunting' through the darkened woods didn't seem to be deterred by any of this. With single-minded purpose, they strode forward, seeking out their objectives, following their orders being their only objective._

 _Finally, one of the ones closest to the front froze mid-swing, his abnormal head snapping to the side as his reddish eyes seemed to scan something among the trees._

 _With a shout, the other 4 creatures followed his lead, jumping faster still, moving from tree to tree almost like monkeys, with such agility that most would have trouble believing they were beings that moved the best while under the earth._

 _After several seconds of furious movement, the creature leading the pack finally spotted what they were looking for: A lonely figure with a cape, looking barely able to stand while resting against a tree, trying almost desperately to push forward._

 _Not wasting an instant, moving with the clear coordination of beings that had been born to work together, the five hunters took position on the trees surrounding their target, the first one jumping down to retrieve it…_

 _And then it was consumed by a miniature sun, a burst of raw energy disintegrating the shocked being out of existence with a brutal explosion, not leaving even ashes behind, all in less than a second._

 _The group of creatures barely had time to let their many eyes widen before two more blasts of energy consumed them, this time visible as some sort of 'energy spheres', the last two remaining beings falling to the ground with a painful force._

 _One of them fell near the figure they had apparently been searching. Immediately, the mysterious caped form turned around, its head snapped down to look at the shocked hunter, whose soul was filled with fear at seeing the soulless and hungry red, the long wet hair of the same color partially covering the face and giving it an even more menacing look as it lunged forward, fangs bared…_

 _And then the other hunter came forward and punched the hungry being with the cape away, quickly grabbing his remaining companion and jumping away, both taking no time in running as fast as they could through the forests, barely dodging more of the upcoming energy spheres that exploded after them._

 _Back where they had lost most of their comrades…the hungry figure dislodged itself from a broken tree, snarling in anger, the impact that would have killed most humans having apparently not affected it in the slightest._

 _That was when a second figure, also wearing a cape, but noticeably different, emerged from the trees, the remaining energy spheres in her hands vanishing as tears fell from her eyes and she barely held back a sob, hugging herself to not shake from the cold._

 _When the hungry one fell to its knees, however, the new one didn't hesitate in running to its side, quickly helping her fellow cape-wearer with a grunt of exhaustion._

 _"Hu…hungry…"_

 _"Shhh, I know. I know, just…wait a bit more, okay? I promise I will…get you something to eat."_

 _"…tha-thanks…you're a…real friend…Ro…"_

 _"Don't talk. Keep your strength…we're going to need it. I…am going to freeze to death if we don't get out of this rain soon."_

 _Talking in whispers, the two tired fugitives vanished into the darkness of the night, out of sight from anyone who could follow them._

 _On the sky, the dark clouds hiding Lunaria's form from the Underworld's residents thundered ominously…_

* * *

 **4th Month of the Human Empire Calendar, 379. Forest West of Terubi Town. Early Morning…**

Not many people ventured into the deep forests that covered that area.

After all, beyond the unknown dangers that could be lurking within its depths, there was the fact that there was no reason for anyone to be there. There was nothing of value in that part, in the southernmost region of the Norlangarth North Empire. At less than 200 Kilolu from the great Capital of Centoria, and with the nearby Town of Terubi having no need for getting wood from there themselves, the only ones who would step into such a place would be those foolish enough to disregard their own safety…or those that were specifically trying to stay hidden.

Such was the case with the caped young man standing near the remains of a campfire, doing his best to finish scattering any and all remains so that it wasn't immediately obvious someone had spent the night there.

Finally, releasing a small sigh, the black-haired boy stood up and dusted off his bandages-covered hands, looking briefly at the sky with a small frown.

"Over half a year…I have been here that whole time. I mean, theoretically the Acceleration should mean not that long has passed in the real world, but…God, I'm going to kill Kikuoka when I get back…"

"Kirito? Who are you talking to?" asked a curious voice from somewhere behind the gamer, making him turn around to see the already familiar for him visage of a young tea-haired girl in traveling clothes.

What truly drew his attention, though, despite how many times he had seen it already, was the bundle of cloth wrapped around her head…like a turban a seer would use.

Selka Zuberg had started doing that with the cloth she usually used to cover her crystal ball just a couple months ago, offering nothing but that it felt 'comfortable' when they had asked.

It could have been just a bizarre coincidence, but Kirito actually feared it was just another proof that, whatever Kikuoka and his men had 'put' in the inhabitants of this world to grant them the bizarre powers they had affected more than just their abilities…

"Nothing, Selka. I was just…thinking…"

"U-uhm…tha-that's fine…" mumbled the Seer while looking to the side, a small blush suddenly adorning her cheeks. "I-is there something on my face? You're staring a lot…"

"O-oh, forgive me!" quickly apologized the black-haired boy while scratching the back of his head, looking embarrassed at having been caught in deep thinking. "It's just that, uhm…you have grown taller these last months!"

"D-do you really think so?" asked Selka with a suddenly bright look, making her caped friend sigh internally at how she believed her excuse. "I mean, w-we have been kind of trying to stay out of sight and stay out of inhabited places as much as we can but still eating nicely, which hasn't been easy, bu-but I suppose the extra effort has kept me in shape a-and growing with no problems, a-and…"

"And it helps only two out of us three actually need to eat too." called the last member of the unusual trio from behind the youngest one, making her squeak as she spun around to see the amused look in Eugeo's face as he looked down at her with a small smile. "It helps out that I can also get past almost everyone without them noticing, right?"

"E-Eugeo, I have told you a thousand times to stop doing that!" squeaked the tea-haired girl while waving her arms in 'anger' towards her big brother figure. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"

"Heh, I know you're too tough for something like that to happen, Selka-chan." grinned the green-eyed boy while ruffling her hair, ignoring her adorable angry pout as he looked towards the smiling Kirito. "Ready to move out, partner?"

"Of course, I was just waiting for you two to be done." replied the caped boy with a bemused tone, barely resisting the urge to laugh at the betrayed look Selka sent his way at the words. "After all, today is kinda important, right?"

"…yeah, it is." replied Eugeo with a slightly more serious tone, the tea-haired girl's own visage suddenly looking worried too. "We have wasted enough time going around Norlangarth as it is…"

"It couldn't be helped, though." interrupted him Kirito as he started walking, away, an impassive look on his face as the other two followed after him. "After all, as you pointed out, we're technically criminals. Even if we have managed to dodge being found by one of those 'Integrity Knights' and escape those… _things_ they sent after us, trying to directly enter the Capital as we are would be akin to suicide. Even heading in its general direction would be too dangerous for us…and it's not as if we can just try and go around it…"

"Yo-you seemed really surprised when we first told you about the Immortal Walls that divide the 4 Grand Empires, Kirito." commented Selka with apprehension as they slowly exited the forest, seeing Terubi's walls slightly far in the distance. "Do-does your world not have anything similar?"

"Well, it technically does…but not on the scale this one does, no."

The black-haired boy still remembering that particular reveal with a small shudder.

Four massive walls, of slightly over 750 Kilometers (Or 'Kilolu' as they were called in that world) and that divided the entirety of the so-called Human Empire in each one of its respective 'kingdoms' (Which had clearly been named after the cardinal points of the real world).

What had truly baffled the boy hadn't been to know how the 'Human Empire' was basically a massive kinda-circle completely surrounded by the Mountain Range (And that the entirety of the rest of the world was apparently the 'Dark Territory'), but that these walls extended such an absurd distance and completely isolated the four parts of the Empire, their absurd height making it impossible for anyone to get past them (Not as if anyone had apparently even the inkling of trying) except by going directly to the capital, where they originated from.

In other words, those weren't things that Kikuoka and the people he was working with had put… _someone else_ , from within this world, had done so.

Even asking Eugeo and Selka had brought nothing but legends, of people speaking how the founder of the Axiom Church called for the aid of the Goddesses and they raised the walls to protect them all in a single instant, awing the world.

…except that, from Kirito's perspective, those walls didn't seem so much as meant to protect as they seemed to ISOLATE the people of the land, dividing them from each other, and keeping tabs on them by forcing them to go through the capital if they needed to go to another kingdom for something…never mind that most people didn't even feel the need or the natural curiosity for such a thing for their entire lives.

The fact that Selka had only started to seem more apprehensive and receptive to such things and actually starting to openly noticing them after they left Rulid just confirmed his worst fears: Beyond simple 'indoctrination', whatever that 'Seal of the Right Eye', that apparently everyone in this world had, was, it clearly affected the very souls of every inhabitant of that bizarre land in such a way that, once they lost it, the difference was more than evident unless they purposefully acted to _not_ show it.

Eugeo could easily pass it off with his years-long-practiced cool demeanor (And honestly it wasn't as eye-catching as his extremely pale visage, though so far the managed to get away with it saying it was a childhood sickness the few times he actually had been with them when meeting other people), but Selka's caring nature and young age made the same thing very difficult.

Not only did she constantly wonder and questioned things before she had just slightly doubted in the back of her mind, both about the state of the world and the people's quality of life, but more often than not she did so out loud without even realizing it.

That had led to more than one awkward moment that Kirito (As the green-haired boy usually did his best to not show up in public unless absolutely needed) had needed to excuse before the confused inhabitants of the surrounding towns by saying his 'little sister' was a bit scatterbrained. Selka's reactions to that were always between amusing and worrying to see, as the young girl looked so embarrassed she seemed about to burst.

She _really_ seemed to regret those slip-ups. Well, either that or him calling her his little sister, if only to cover appearances, really made her quite…

"…something isn't right." Eugeo's words were enough to drag the black-haired boy back to the present, making him notice how both of his otherworldly friends looked tense; the older one disguising it way better.

A quick look toward Terubi's gate told him why, though: Unlike the few times they had come by the closest town to the capital in the whole Norlangarth North Empire, there wasn't a single person walking in and out, nor anyone visible near the first street.

Neither the guards that were supposed to protect the gates since the moment they opened.

"…where is everyone?" asked Selka with a hint of fear, tightening the grip on her crystal ball, which she now carried on a traveling bag which hung from her side.

"Do you think something happened?" questioned Kirito while opening and closing his fists, his senses as sharp as he could extend them without actually triggering his 'Saitama Perception', as if expecting something to jump and attack them out of nowhere, his eyes fixed…on the ground around them.

"No way. There is no sign that a fight of any kind has taken place, and anything big enough to make everyone in a town this size disappear would have been more than loud enough to hear, or at least notice, all the way to the forest." quickly replied the green-eyed boy, clearly struggling to not let his hands wander towards the weapons on his back and side. "This is something else…"

"What are you three doing there?!" called out an unknown voice, making the three 'criminals' tense and turn around to look a hurried-looking man, looking at them with distress. "The assembly was called almost an hour ago! We're going to be late!"

"A-assembly?" asked Selka with apprehension as they were hurried into the town by the man, easily noticing how, despite going along with him, the two boys at her sides were ready to attack or bolt if needed. "W-we come from a nearby town t-to buy some supplies, mister, a-and just arrived here a few moments ago. What's going on?"

"O-oh, that explains it! Regardless, we will still be in trouble if we don't get there, even if you didn't know it beforehand." spoke the nervous man as they neared the town's center, the trio noticing that all the inhabitants of Terubi seemed to be gathered there, though they were all talking in hushed whispers for some reason. "I don't know if it's bad or good luck for you, but thank the Goddesses I stumbled upon you when I did! Who knows what would have happened if you had missed a summon from a Knight?"

The moment those words exited the man's mouth, just as they arrived at the town's central area, Kirito noticed right away how the tea-haired girl froze in sudden fear, her eyes wide with panic, while the 'undead' of their group tensed, a flash of anger and something darker rushing through his eyes before they fixed like two pieces of emerald ice upon something.

The gamer saw it too, without the need for much effort. After all, it was what had called everyone there, and it currently stood slightly apart from the multitude of people, which stood staring at it with a mix of awe and fear.

A figure clad in greyish-silver armor, standing tall and imposing, almost seeming to tower over all the people there, like a giant among mortals.

Integrity Knight. One of the so-called 'guardians' of the World, the Axiom Church's Enforcers of Order. What this bizarre world had for 'Heroes', in other words.

Except that, in Kirito's eyes, there was nothing heroic in the cold and almost inhuman way the armored figure seemed to regard the people before them. And the two humanoid 'creatures' standing at his (?) sides certainly didn't help at all.

Tall and with muscles that surpassed the average bodybuilder, hands the size of a regular human's head and only two toes on each foot. Three fingers on each hand, wearing golden or metallic 'ornaments', like wristbands, necklaces and even armor over their right shoulders. To complete the bizarre getup, each wore different metal 'helmets', twisted and open in several and bizarre ways, with only their _several_ round red eyes showing.

Kirito had no problem in naming them with just a glance, and hadn't had even before when he had first seen them into that world, as they hid from a patrol of them a couple of months after their 'escape' from Rulid, barely having been able to restrain his cream back then.

'Subterraneans'. The Subterranean People which showed up near the end of One Punch-Man's first anime episode…the real ones, thankfully, not the ones from Saitama's dream. While they were still clearly stronger than the average human by a fair margin and deadly in groups, they weren't about to take over the surface world and eradicate 90% of mankind in minutes.

The mere concept of which would probably be terribly alien and ironic in that world, because they were apparently the equivalent of the fucking _police_ force of the Human World. Had been for so long that everyone apparently found it perfectly normal nowadays.

How that had happened, or why they seemed to be absolutely loyal to the Axiom Church, was something Kirito had no idea about, but just knew the answer would give him something worse than a simple headache…

"I'm Integrity Knight Dakira Synthesis Twenty-two, currently traveling through this part of the Norlangarth North Empire to issue a warning of utmost importance." finally spoke the armored figure, with an inhuman voice, genderless, which the caped boy vaguely recalled Eugeo to have told him was a 'power' built into their helmets to completely hide their identities when they so wanted it, probably some overly complex Sacred Art. "Two extremely dangerous fugitives have been sighted in the nearby area. They're considered criminals of the highest degree and a potential danger to everyone living in close proximity."

A worried and panicked wave of whispers spread through the crowd at the knight's words, fear and worry clearly gripping the hearts of Terubi's inhabitants at the terrible news (As apathetically as the Integrity Knight was giving them). The three 'criminals' hidden in plain sight, though, exchanged confused looks.

For a tense second, they had thought the Integrity Knight was referring to them, attributing the wrong number to maybe them just knowing of Selka and probably Kirito, but the information didn't add up.

In the first place, if they could even get such confusing information to not know they were 3 instead of 2, and if they had known they were still in that area, then surely they wouldn't have tried to stir panic through the population by spouting out lies. After all, those who were hunting them had to know none of them could pose a credible threat to innocent people, and even if they did it wasn't as if warning villagers, farmers and merchants would help in actually catching them. The possibility of it all just causing more confusion/fake information spreading through their ranks was way too high. The cons outweighed the pros and there was no way the ones in charge didn't realize this, if they were competent enough to run something as massive as the Axiom Church was in this world.

So, it was either a very convoluted lie the purpose of which they couldn't discern, or…

"…dammit. We may actually have two dangerous psychopaths hiding somewhere around here, uh?" mumbled Eugeo with a resigned/tired look on his face, as if this wasn't as surprising as it should be for him.

"Partner, don't go all emo on us or start regretting coming out of your icy cave, this is serious." harshly whispered Kirito while giving him a pointed look. "Even if we ignore the serious danger this could pose to everyone here, WE are the ones staying in hiding in the dark and unprotected forests…the perfect place for anyone dangerous to hide."

The black-haired boy saw that realization hitting his friend like a ton of bricks (And the irony was that he probably would easily shrug off something like that in less than a minute if it happened) when he felt the tea-haired girl at his side pulling his cape softly, looking a strange mix of curious and embarrassed.

"Kirito…what's an 'emo'?"

"Ehm…"

Luckily for the suddenly uncomfortable gamer, the knight chose that moment to silence the crowd by raising a hand and continue her (That was probably a woman's name, right?) speech.

"Listen well, inhabitants of Terubi. Consider staying within the town's walls and finish your duties and works before the sun has set for your own safety. Also, by order of the Axiom Church, while you shouldn't try seeking them out for obvious reasons, anyone who finds out or discovers any information or clues about the fugitives' whereabouts must immediately report it to the nearest Subterranean." informed Dakira while pointing towards the two creatures at her sides, who were clearly going to stick around, as they nodded in answer. "Not doing so will be considered with the same gravity as a violation of the Taboo Index."

It was as if the last words she had just said had a magic on their own, one of terrifying nature. Upon hearing that declaration, everyone in the crowd froze for a moment, before their faces morphed into a mix of seriousness and understanding, more than one unconsciously nodding to the words.

Kirito drowned out the rest of the Integrity Knight's words about how they could get a vague description of the missing criminals by looking at the signs they would post on the town's church, instead opting for looking over the crowd with narrowed eyes, only realizing the armored figure had vacated the premises when the people started dispersing.

"…I don't get it." mumbled the black-haired boy with narrowed eyes as he saw everyone returning to whatever they were doing before the unusual interruption, trying their best to pretend nothing had happened. "I would have expected more panic, maybe excitement or nervousness, but instead they just…why do they simply seem so tense?"

"I…I don't know…" whispered Selka while looking at the people around her as if she was contemplating a strangely unnerving phenomenon, especially knowing that a few months ago she probably would have gone along with it despite her own doubts.

"Heh…it's so obvious they can even 'feel' it after that knight is gone. That something is 'wrong'…yet they're all doing their best to not acknowledge it and pretend nothing is happening." bitterly answered Eugeo with closed eyes, recalling dark memories of everyone in Rulid not lifting a single finger or even speaking up to try and defend Alice as another of those damned knights took her away. "…let's get what we needed and get out of here."

"Agreed. If we hope to blend in with the caravan that's going to the capital tomorrow, we can't risk being noticed because of this commotion." as he said those words, the gamer refrained from saying he also didn't want to stay in Terubi and the tense atmosphere that now filled it any more than necessary, especially given the implications it gave to his already very poor image of that world. "We get the supplies and then we go."

"…we really need to pull this off. This is the last money we have from the odd jobs we made in Zakkaria." commented Selka in a clear attempt to change the subject towards something less tense as she looked at the insides of her small travel bag. "Unless we want to try that again here…"

"Please, no." quickly interrupted the green-eyed boy with a seemingly haunted look in his eyes. "I will take fending off monsters from the Dark Territory any day over having to clean stables again."

"…yeah, let's pull this off without issues, okay?" mumbled a clearly nervous Kirito while hurrying his pace, as if that was somehow going to make their chances increase.

The tea-haired girl, for her part, could barely suppress a chuckle at the response from the two older boys.

Truly, it was almost hilarious how, despite one being a basically an unkillable being that had faced monsters for years and the other a (She was very sure) warrior from another world, they both shuddered at the thought of 'simple' manual labor.

Making the world their enemies for selfless reasons? Easy. But tell them to spend another day cleaning a stable or helping out a farmer with the harvest…

With a soft smile and a lighter step, Selka hurried after them, humming a song Sister Azariya had taught her long ago.

She didn't realize how more than one person looked nervously at Kirito before looking for someone else and they shaking their heads after pointing something out.

Because, in the description given by the Subterranean, both fugitives 'wore capes', but the rest of the descriptions exempted the strangely dressed boy from suspicion.

After all, he wasn't 'dirty like a savage' nor did he have 'blood-red eyes and hair'…

* * *

It was a few hours later that the three unlikely friends walked away from the town of Terubi with their bags full of the best supplies they had managed to purchase, having subtly checked (Meaning, have Selka innocently ask around) again for where and at which hour the caravan departing for Centoria would leave.

They were more than ready and had everything they needed to blend in with it when the time came. Even Eugeo's pale appearance would actually be their biggest excuse rather than what drew the most suspicion to them, given they would say they were heading for the capital to seek out someone that could 'help with his illness', something the undead wasn't exactly pleased with, even if he would bear with the pity-filled looks and whispers all the way to Centoria if needed just to give them the chance they needed.

Once they were close to the city's walls, they would subtly sneak away and…well, that part of the plan wasn't very clear yet, but they were honestly hoping things would somehow allow them to sneak in somehow.

It was a very half-assed hope and potentially a deadly dangerous one, but they didn't exactly have much more chances and couldn't keep just wandering around Norlangarth much longer, even if Kirito wasn't exactly thrilled with their chances. Even more after having been told of the 'event' that took place after he started 'dying' back there outside the cave, when apparently the still alive sister/childhood friend of his companions, Alice, had somehow communicated with them to help save his life. Saving her from whatever had happened after she was taken away had become an even bigger priority for him after that.

In the end, if the worst happened, Eugeo would probably be able to get away and he didn't really care much for himself, as he could bear the pain of 'dying' by knowing he would still be alive in the real world…but Selka could very well lose her life if things went south. And that was something he wasn't willing to allow.

That's why he was currently standing before a tree in the middle of the forest, eyes closed as he took a deep breath, concentrating as hard as he could and 'searching inside himself' for…something.

Gritting his teeth, the black-haired boy reared back his fist and, with a small cry, punched.

The next instant, he was biting back curses and holding his throbbing hand with his unharmed one, feeling the sting of tears in his eyes.

"Gods, that hurts!"

"Kirito! I knew you would be at it again!" came the familiar and worried voice of the group's unofficial cook/healer as she rushed towards the gamer's side, the Sacred Art already on her lips as a soft glow covered her hands and radiated Kirito's pained one, making the agony vanish and the bleeding bruise to fade. "Seriously, why do you keep trying that?! You just keep hurting yourself!"

"I…I need to, Selka. This 'Incarnation' thing…we know it exists, but we have no idea how it works or how to properly summon it, not even Eugeo who can use it to some extent." grumbled the caped boy while glaring at the tree before him. "And I know that it somehow lets me access the…'abilities' I sometimes possess in my world, so I need to get the hang of it as soon as possible…"

"But you have been trying it ever since we left Rulid, yet you have had no better luck doing…any of those things you pulled off against that monster bird or in the cave against…that goblin…" despite her voice losing strength at the memory of Ugachi, immediately bringing back its dying body and her blood-stained hands to the front of her mind, the tea-haired girl continued talking, ignoring the gamer's worried look with her own one. "Does it really matter if you can't use those powers? Are they really so important to you?"

"I…It's not that, I just…" started to say Kirito before the words faltered him, his mind suddenly drifting away…

 _Moving faster than anything should be able to, hitting with the strength to shatter the world, ending any and all threat with just one punch…_

"…it's not about the power…"

 _Illfang shattering into polygons, everyone hating or fearing him…but Asuna following him._

"…it's what I can do with it…"

 _Joy and excitement filling his heart, his fists clashing against the [Sword] wielded by the [Worthy] one, Alfheim's skies shaking as his and Yuuki's battle twisted the world._

"…and what can you do with it?" mumbled the tea-haired girl while looking at his now uninjured hand with sadness.

The boy's eyes closed.

 _Equinox's words fell on deaf ears, the smiles and the hopes of everyone with him as his fist shot forward, shattering the Nothingness and turning the Impossible into Possible, silencing the maddened AI…_

"…enough to ensure you and Eugeo are safe even if the worst happens." assured the gamer as he once again opened his eyes, Selka feeling her breath caught in her throat at the sincere smile in his face as he said those words. "That's why I won't… _can't_ stop, until I figure this out, Selka."

"O-okay, if it means that much for you the-then I won't say anything else…bu-but at least stop sneaking away without telling us anything!" quickly replied the young girl while looking away, feeling her cheeks flushing as she pointedly kept her gaze on the wet glass covering the forest's floor. "…say…Kirito…how was your life back there in your world?"

Eyes widening, Kirito had to actually hold himself from recoiling in surprise at the unexpected question.

Certainly, Selka had been very curious to know about Eugeo's full story shortly after they left Rulid, and the green-eyed boy had been more than willing to share with her what he had already with the gamer, but not once had any of them tried to ask or seemed curious about his life and/or 'his world'.

Of course, the black-haired boy suspected it was more out of respect than they not having any real curiosity. Then again, with how Eugeo was, it was very likely he just didn't care all that much as long as he knew the gamer was someone he could trust and watch his back when needed. The younger girl, on the other hand…respect to his privacy had probably been the only thing holding her back from asking, and after several months traveling together…

"That's…kind of a long story, Selka."

"We-well, it's not as if we have much to do until tomorrow, so, if you don't mind…" insisted the Seer while looking towards him before once again gazing toward the ground, clearly trying to overcome her shyness just for that…when her eyes fell on small puddle near their feet.

The effect was instantaneous, her vision of the world around him and the boy she was talking to dimming as she was unwillingly drawn into something she shouldn't be able to see, the familiar sensation not any less uncomfortable, just more bearable now that she was slightly more used to it and not trying to deny it every time it happened.

 _That same forest, heavy breathing and tiredness overcoming them, the two figures running as best as they could, but one of them too weak, falling down, the other trying to urge the first to keep moving despite how tired it was too…and none being able to see the jumping forms of the Subterranean surrounding them until it was too late, the first one crushing the weaker one on the ground with a massive fist while the other firmly gripped the smaller, and now screaming for her companion, one by the neck…_

"…ka? Selka, you okay?! Was it another vision? What…? Hey! Where are you going?!"

"We have to help them!" screamed Selka without looking back, desperation in her eyes as she rushed through the forest, not even bothering to look back at the shocked Kirito as she went as fast as her legs could carry her. "They're going to catch them if we don't!"

Despite having no idea of the context behind the declaration, the black-haired boy knew by now that it was foolish to heed the advice of the one with the power to see the future, especially given the few times it had let them completely avoid Subterranean patrols or an incident that could have exposed them. So, without hesitation, he started to run after her…

…and majestically tripped on an overgrown root, slippery from the moisture.

"Gah! …kuh, I swear to God, everyone would laugh their asses off in disbelief if they saw me like this…ah! Selka, wait!" quickly shouted the gamer, banishing yet another wave of thoughts about how he hated lacking his 'powers' in that bizarre world in favor of reaching towards the disappearing form of the running young girl.

For her part, the Seer hadn't even realized her friend from another world wasn't following right behind her, too focused on running as fast as her legs allowed her, only the strange sense of 'Purpose' she got every time she had a vision letting her navigate the forest without issue and with single-mindedness. Once again, a small part of her mind marveled at the easiness in which she ran faster than probably everyone in Rulid would ever be able to, even the town's guard, a dramatic change from the young Sacred Arts apprentice of a few months ago. It was a testament both of the twisted reality she had become aware of about what the quickest way to raise one's Authority was (That is, _killing_ another living being, the stronger it was the stronger you became) and her life surviving on the road and forests with her two unlikely companions.

All of it was pushed away completely from her thoughts, however, when she finally arrived at the small clearing she had been looking for, knowing immediately that she was in time when her gaze settled on the two figures lying near the roots of one of the only trees that, for some reason, weren't 'broken' as if something had been trying to tear them in half.

They were two girls, clearly older than her but still probably younger than Kirito and Eugeo.

Both of them wore 'capes', like the black-haired boy did, but radically different in style from the otherworldly hero and from each other.

The shorter of the two, who was also the one standing, was quite petite, but still noticeably bustier than the other one. She had brown hair and beautiful blue eyes, though they looked more like those of a lake than the heaven-colored ones Selka still remember from her sister…and she also looked terrible. As in, her clothes were slightly tattered and dirty, never mind how both her hands and face looked as if they were slightly covered in grime, or how her hair was unkempt and clearly hadn't been taken care of in a while. Her cape looked more like something that had been thrown to the trash and then recovered by a scavenger to them does their (Poor) best attempts at sewing it back together into a barely useful shape, not seeming to fulfill any actual function except making her look worse

On the ground, the taller of the two girls was staring at the ground and on all fours, making it hard for the Seer to discern her features, but enough to realize that something was very wrong with her. Even if one ignored the black and grey fancy attire she wore, looking more fitting for a High-Class Noble from the capital than from someone you would see on the ground in a forest, her own cape was even more contrasting to her friend than her overall appearance, a massive and regal-looking thing with a high collar and a rich red color on the inside (Being still black outside), the same shade as the girl's long hair. However, there was no denying she looked terrible on her own way because, besides being clearly panting for breath and seemingly unable to move, what was visible of her skin was an unnatural chalk white.

Eugeo's pale skin could pass for that of someone sick with enough effort, something they had tested firsthand more than once (Much to his annoyance), but that of the shaking girl on the ground seemed more like a corpse's than anything else.

"Please, just a little more!" begged the shorter girl with tears in her eyes as she did her best to help her friend stand up. "They're right behind us! We can't let them catch us now, not after everything we have gone through…!"

"Ca-can't…s-so hungry…" painfully moaned the red-haired girl, barely reacting to her companion's pushes. "Le-leave me…"

"N-no! Never!" cried the dirtier-looking of the two while putting more strength in her attempts at dragging her friend. "I-I know you are hungry a-and I promise I will get you something t-to…'eat' very soon, but please, you need to get up, Tie…!"

"U-uhm…do you need any help?"

Selka's voice seemed to tear through the air like a whip cracking against stone, freezing both girls dead in their tracks and letting an eerie atmosphere over the entire area. Suddenly, the young girl started to think that maybe she should have listened to her survival instincts that had been screaming at her to remain silent and get out of there, only the threat of the future she had seen not even 2 minutes before making her talk.

That feeling got reinforced when the shorter of the two let go of her friend and stared towards the Seer in horror and denial, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing and that only terrified her more.

The reason became apparent for her as soon as the taller one slowly raised her head, almost mechanically, letting her beautiful face finally be seen…and also the inhuman hunger in her blood-red eyes, the tip of unnaturally pointed ears slightly visible through the locks of her blood-colored hair.

What truly made Selka take a step back, however, were the small, but sharp and clearly inhuman fangs shining in her slightly open mouth, caressing her pale lips.

"Hunger…" growled the red-haired and clearly not-human girl as she shot to her feet with an agility and grace she seemed incapable of a second ago, before all but catapulting herself towards the frozen tea-haired one. "So…HUNGRY!"

"Tiese, NO!" screamed the blue-eyed girl while futilely raising a hand towards her friend, even as the Seer screamed and threw herself to the ground at the last second…

…just in time for the unfortunate Subterranean that had been just landing behind her to receive Tiese's flying tackle, the creature screaming as both fell to the ground.

"What the…?! Wa-wait, don't….AAARGHHHH!"

For Selka, the sound of Ugachi dying at her hands quickly took a second place on her 'Most terrifying things I have ever heard' list, as soon as the screams of the Axiom Church's guard/hunter mixing with the clear sound of someone 'slurping' some kind of liquid amidst fiercely hungry growls reached her ears, followed by the quick ceasing of the former's screams.

Rolling to the side and back to her feet as fast as she could, the young girl was greeted to the sight of the redhead separating her lips from the Subterranean's neck, the underground creature's corpse falling as the taller girl stood up, her skin now looking healthier and her posture much more regal as she turned around, her pupils having turned into slits and blood staining her mouth and fangs as her tongue absentmindedly licked her now richly-colored lips.

"Go-Goddesses…" whimpered the Seer as she took a step back, terror gripping her heart as the blood-drinker's gaze followed her like a hunter stalking prey.

"Tiese, stop! You already had your fill, right?!" shouted the brown-haired girl with desperation, her hands extended in her inhuman friend's direction in what Selka thought was a pointless gesture. "She's an innocent person! Don't do something you will regret!"

"…Ronye…?" mumbled the one called Tiese while turning around, her gaze seeming unfocused as she stared at her friend with apparent incomprehension. "What…what did I…?"

Any further words were interrupted by the arrival of two new Subterranean, the humanoid creatures freezing after taking in the whole scene with their many eyes

"Shi-shit! Target B has 'feed' already! Her status is now 'Active'! Quick, recover Target A before…!"

The creature was unable to say anything else, though, because at that moment the redhead had already moved before him and, with almost contemptuous easiness, swiped her hand towards his neck.

Selka had enough time to finally notice how her nails had become monstrously sharp before the Subterranean's head flew away from his body, the headless corpse stumbling back a bit as bloodshot from its neck as it fell.

"Mo-monster!" screamed the remaining hunter with a mix of rage and fear, his massive fist shooting towards the, in comparison, minuscule girl.

Tiese dodged with a crouch, seemingly without effort, before once again moving faster and more flexible than any normal human could ever hope to do, grabbing the Subterranean's arm almost casually.

Staring in dumb shock, the tea-haired girl watched as she _ripped the appendage off,_ the underground creature's screams being silenced when the redhead casually ax-kicked it into the ground, a sickening sound of bones and flesh being crushed echoing through the forest.

"Da-dammit all!" came a terrified voice from atop a tree, Selka's eyes turning to see the last member of what had been a four members' team of Subterranean turning around and jumping away as fast as he could, almost seeming to 'dive' towards the ground.

The creature barely managed to dig into the thick and wet dirt, escaping underground, before Tiese's form had almost blurred to his position, her claws sinking uselessly against the half-covered hole it had created upon its escape.

After a few seconds of staring silently at the dirt, the redhead slowly stood up again, turning around and directing her vacant, almost unfocused, stare towards the shaking Seer, who was looking at her with fascinated horror.

"A-ah…I…I just…"

"Must…protect Ronye…" mumbled Tiese while raising her sharp claws, shooting towards Selka like a tiger leaping at its prey, the young girl screaming as she closed her eyes, hearing the other girl's pleas for her friend to stop in the background…

"SELKA!"

…only for her gaze to shot open in time to see a familiar form punching the flying redhead from the side, a painful sound of bones cracking filling the air as Kirito screamed in pain while his enemy flew through the air and landed in a perfect crouch not far from them.

"Ki-Kirito!" cried the Seer in happiness, unable to believe he had arrived at the right moment.

"Wh-why did you run off without me, dammit?" groaned the black-haired boy while wincing as he grasped his clearly broken hand with his good one, putting his body between his friend's and that of the inhuman attacker despite his obvious pain. "Felt like punching a brick wall…oh, fuck me sideways…Pureblood Vampire? Seriously?"

"Ki-Kirito, w-we need to run! That girl just drank all the blood from a Subterranean a-and then ki-killed 2 more without any effort!" informed Selka while holding his cape in fear, though still with enough mind to extend her other hand towards his damaged one, chanting for a Sacred Art to restore it.

"Sh-she's right, you have to go!" shouted the girl called Ronye while still holding her hands out in that seemingly 'pointless' position, aiming towards her friend while holding back tears. "Get out of here, I-I will calm Tiese down once you're out of her sight! Please!"

"I would love to, but something tells me your friend isn't just going to let us walk away…" muttered the gamer while gritting his teeth at seeing the redhead with the power of one of the deadliest Disaster Level-Demon monsters of the Monsters Association snarling at him, realizing that he would be killed in seconds unless he managed to reach for his 'powers' in the next second. "Selka, run while I distract her!"

"N-no, she will ki-kill…!"

"Gaaaah!" roared Tiese as if she was some bloodthirsty animal, leading towards the pair with terrifying speed, her blue-eyed friend looked resigned as her hands followed her trajectory, seeming ready to do something…

And then someone jumped down from the trees behind Selka and Kirito, brutally dropkicking the inhuman girl, the sight of her eyes widening in pain being engraved on the Seer's eyes before she flew like a ragdoll and brutally slammed against a tree, breaking it in half.

There was a second of silence as Eugeo stood up, his boots now ruined, and turned around towards his friend and pseudo-little sister with a worried/annoyed look in his face.

"Why the hell would you two run after deadly danger without telling me?! If it wasn't for all those screams, I wouldn't have gotten here in time!"

"E-Eugeo…!"

"Partner, you don't know how glad I'm to see…"

"TIESE, NO!" screamed Ronye just as the redhead's claws fiercely sank on the green-eyed boy's back, piercing through the flesh and all the way to the bone with seemingly no effort.

"Die!" snarled the inhuman girl with an almost animalistic tone…before her instincts screamed at her that something was _very_ wrong.

It wasn't how cold the pale boy's flesh felt or how disgusting the blood that had splashed on her face tasted what truly shook her, though, but the cold and anger-filled look his emerald eyes directed her way as he casually looked back at her, not a single trace of pain in his gaze.

"Great mistake."

An elbow slammed into Tiese's face the next instant, filling her with pain and making her recoil, only for a back-kick to drive all the air from her lungs as it crashed against her stomach, blood falling from her mouth as she rolled through the forest's ground and fell on a heap, only for someone to painfully step on her back before she could even think to stand.

Looking up in horror, the redhead saw how Eugeo raised his white axe over his head, aimed directly to split her skull in half.

"Good night, mons…uh?" stopping, the green-eyed boy hesitated, nothing but pure fear and confusion now filling the girl's face where there had been only animal rage before. "Wait, what…?"

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" screamed the brown-haired girl once the shock of seeing someone so easily manhandle Tiese wore off, her hands _glowing_ with power.

Kirito felt his brain stopping for a second and was barely able to shot out a warning before twin spheres of chaotic raw energy shot from her hands, moving through the air almost at the speed of bullets.

Eugeo turned around in time for one of them to _annihilate_ the center of his torso, leaving only a gaping hole where his heart, lungs, and part of other organs had been, the energy sphere continuing undeterred as if his flesh had been nothing but air, the other one flying past him harmlessly.

Then, both spheres ate through several trees before exploding with unholy power, disintegrating everything caught in the explosion's radius.

Absolute horror-filled, surprisingly, both Selka's _and_ Ronye's faces as the green-eyed boy slumped forward, letting go of his axe but still standing there, like a weirdly frozen puppet, Tiese herself starting to cry and covering her mouth in terror as she watched the brutalized body, not even trying to move from her position.

"EUGEO!"

"Oh Goddesses…no…"

"…again…I did it again…" mumbled the brown-haired girl while shaking and falling to her knees, tears in her eyes as she looked at her hands with disgust and fear. "They were right…I can only destroy everything I tou…!"

"Holy…crap…" came the harsh and hoarse whisper from Eugeo's 'corpse', making the redhead under him scream and all but shot from under him, staring at the _talking_ boy with a hole through where his major organs had been in shock. "What kind of…monster are you …? Never seen…so much power…"

"He's…alive?" mumbled Tiese in clear shock, even as Selka rushed forward with a relieved look and kneeled beside her pseudo-big brother, ignoring everyone in favor of trying to close at least the outer part of his massive wound. "N-no way…is he like us…?"

"A-another Cursed one?" whispered Ronye with clear disbelief, looking towards the Seer trying to help the undead boy with utmost dedication. "Bu-but…they're normal…why…?"

"Hey there…am I right to guess you are the two fugitives the Integrity Knights were talking about?" spoke Kirito with the friendliest tone he could muster, only his grasp on his 'Inner Saitama' allowing him not to flinch in fear when the girl in the rags raised her hands his way almost in reflex, panic filling her teary gaze. "It's okay! We're not going to hurt you…we're 'criminals' too, you see…and something tells me that, like us, you aren't exactly the monsters they're painting you to be, right?"

"…it's…it's my fault." muttered the redhead while looking down, looking at her hands with a mix of hate and regret. "I…I get too weak and useless without blood, but I just _hate_ having to drink it and how good it feels, bu-but then I end up being a burden to Ronye, a-and I then the bloodthirst makes me lose control and…and…!"

"That must…suck." wheezed out Eugeo while experiencing the fascinatingly disturbing feeling of his powers regenerating his whole lungs for the first time, staring straight at the girl's shocked red eyes. "Don't worry…I know very well how it feels…to think everything it's your fault…but believe me…it's not only unpleasant, it doesn't help…anyone…"

"I-I tried to kill you…how can you say that so casually…?" cried Tiese while crawling closer to him, Selka giving her a look for an instant before returning to her task.

"Heh…crazier and…way scarier things than you have tried…" coughed/laughed the green-eyed boy while giving her a bloody smile. "Also much uglier, you're the first fancy girl that ever tries to tear me apart…"

In answer, the redhead couldn't help the small smile tugging at the edge of her lips, her following chuckle barely filled with the bitterness she usually felt.

Staring in disbelief at the scene, Ronye almost jumped when she saw a bandage-covered hand being extended towards her, her gaze snapping towards Kirito's friendly look as he gave her what he hoped looked like a harmless smile.

For the dirty and clearly traumatized girl, it was the kindest and warmest one she had seen in what felt like a lifetime.

"Calm down, we won't harm either of you. Now, if you could please explain what's going on, I'm sure we could try and help yo…"

The black-haired boy was unable to talk further, because the trembling girl started to cry and all but threw herself forward, hugging him and sobbing like a child unable to contain the grief any longer, her whole body shaking with every sob and cry escaping her.

After just an instant of shock, the gamer's features hardened as he hugged Ronye back, whispering soothing sobs as he patted her dirty back softly and let her continue crying under the surprised/worried stares of the others, telling her everything would be alright.

It was at that moment that, once again, Kirigaya Kazuto promised he would punch Kikuoka's face hard enough to break his nose once he got out of there.

Trying to help the broken girl that had been cursed with the powers of the most powerful hobo ever calm down just made him completely sure of that.

At the edge of Reality, [DESTINY] grimaced, seeing the Chains growing and tightening more and more, even as he stared down at the 'board' once again, looking at the terribly damaged, but undoubtedly more powerful (Compared to their original selves) and valuable 'pieces' that had just been added to his sibling's mad game, the grime-covered bishop and the blood-stained rook now lying beside the other 3 with a shaky stance.

And in the distance, the big enemy pieces suddenly started moving…

"[Bloodthirsty Rook and Hopeless Bishop move in]" whispered the youngest Absolute One even as he saw a piece moving forward with menacing speed. "[…Raven Knight heads for Black-White King…]"

Never-ending, the Chains continued their eternal movement…

* * *

The walls surrounding the capital of the Human World were probably the second most impressive thing anyone could see in the whole world, especially as Solus' majestic form finished setting on the horizon.

After all, being part of the Immortal Walls, they were both an imposing and hope-giving sight for all of its inhabitants, and also guaranteed nothing else in the world came even close to comparing.

With the titanic white tower that was the Axiom Church's central cathedral towering over it all and the Subterranean patrolling all over the walls and key buildings of the city, no one ever felt unsafe at all, after all.

But at that moment, something drew the attention of the guards posted near the Northern section of the walls, that which separated Centoria from the Norlangarth North Empire proper.

With an almost brutal speed, a Subterranean emerged from the earth, crashing against the wall in a clearly painful manner before lying there, unmoving

Not even five seconds later, three of his brethren had already jumped down, a few still in the wall calling for more help even as the ones that had descended were grateful the gates were already closed for the day, knowing the sight would have caused unrest among the population, whose 'protection' was one of their main objectives.

Reaching down to try and see if their seemingly injured brother was okay…the one that had done so almost recoiled in shock when his hand was painfully grasped, the Subterranean on the ground looking up at him and the others with crazed eyes, shaking all over.

"Too much…underestimated the danger…wasn't supposed to be this way…"

"He-hey, what's wrong?! Wait…weren't you part of the Subjugation Squad 8B? Where are the others?"

"De-dead…all dead…Target B slaughtered them…"

"What?! How could…?!"

"How could that even happen? I'm sure you all had clear instructions about not taking any risks!" spoke a powerful but worried voice from above, making the Subterranean stiffen and look up as one.

Like a messenger from the heavens, the armored figure descended.

There was something uncanny different with this Integrity Knight, however. And it was not only because of the unusual big and sharp way in which his armor was shaped around his hands and feet, or the intimidating and unique helmet he wore, made in the image of some bird of prey. Not even the beautiful and clearly unnatural twin throwing knives he carried on his hips, whose power almost seemed to stand out above everything around them.

What truly drew everyone's gaze every time they saw him, be it human or Subterranean, were the four powerful and impressive-looking wings growing from his back, like those of a crow…or a fallen angel.

That sight was more than enough to inspire both a deep respect and an irrational fear of anyone in his presence.

"Sy-Synthesis Twenty-seven-sama…" mumbled the shaking Subterranean as the knight descended beside them, looking down at him with an unreadable gaze beyond his helmet. "Yo-you're right, w-we were planning on ambushing them li-like we were told, but…someone found them before us, ruined the whole operation before it even started…"

"Someone? You mean a bystander got involved?" questioned the so-called Synthesis 27 with a sharp tone, torn between worry and seriousness.

"N-no…it was as if she was there to _warn_ them we were coming. I-it looked like a young girl, couldn't be older than 13, and clearly not from a wealthy family, li-like…"

"Like the other fugitive reported missing from Rulid Village months ago." finished the knight with a dark tone, leaning over the fallen creature while folding his wings as he did so. "She helped Targets A and B? Are you certain?"

"Ye-yes…Goddesses, the others…Target B just…killed them as if they were nothing…I barely managed to get away, sh-she was about to…!"

"It's okay. You're safe now, guardian. Rest." whispered Synthesis 27 while putting a metallic hand in the shape of a claw upon the damaged helmet of the underground creature, before standing up and looking at the others around them. "Escort him to headquarters and treat him, then inform that the situation in Norlangarth may have just escalated beyond any prediction."

"A-and you…?" asked another of the Subterranean with clear nervousness.

"I shall avenge his comrades. The criminals will be apprehended…or terminated, for the sake of the Human World." grimly declared the armored figure before his wings unfurled violently, catapulting the knight into the air faster than should have been possible in seconds.

"Wa-wait, Synthesis 27-sama! Yo-you can't leave your post over the capital's skies just like that!"

"I shall be back in no time! The others will understand!" was all that the winged one replied before he was already out of their range of vision, vanishing into the night sky like a small dot in the darkness. "Now then…we have enemies…no, _monsters_ to hunt, my partners. Search for them…"

As he spoke those words, the knight reached for the throwing knives at his sides and uttered two simple words, in perfect English, better known by everyone in that world as the Sacred Tongue.

 _Enhance Armament_

Like they had a life on their own, the twin knives flew from his hands, spinning through the air and then swirling all around him, like two birds of prey, before shooting forward into the night, their forms seeming almost invisible under nothing but Lunaria's light.

For anyone except for the inhuman sharp eyes of their owner, that is.

"…and we shall end them for the sake of this world. So swears Renri Synthesis Twenty-seven."

Upon the night skies, one could almost swear the sound of a dark bird screeching could be heard.

Unseen, the Chains continued tightening their grip on Everything…

* * *

 **…**

 **…STARTING…**

 **…OPENING REPORT LOG.**

 **Warning! Integrity Knight 'Renri Synthesis Twenty-seven' has abandoned his post without authorization or orders from the Axiom Church!**

 **…incoming report confirms details. Synthesis 27 has departed after receiving news that 75% of the Subterranean Subjugation Squad 8B, which had been dispatched to try and recover the Omega-Level Fugitives denominated as 'Target A' and 'Target B' had been wiped out, to try and capture or eliminate the subjects himself. Said decision was taken after the worrying news that Targets A and B had apparently made contact with the 'Anomaly Group' of criminals loose in Norlangarth, that have evaded both capture and detection for months now.**

 **The group consisting on the Anomaly (Tester 005), Eugeo of Rulid (Blessing 'Zombieman') and Selka Zuberg (Blessing 'Madame Shibabawa'/Omega-Level Target) having found, and apparently aided, the two fugitives are terrible news for the Underworld's balance. Details about the two rouge Fluctlights (Escaped from Testing Area 002 in the Wesdarath West Empire) in question are as follow:**

 _-Fluctlight #110693: 'Tiese Shtolienen' (Target B)_

 _-Divine Curse: PUREBLOOD VAMPIRE (Level Demon). Body mutations consisting on unnaturally pale skin, fangs, clawed nails, slitted pupils and pointed ears. The possessor gains terrifying strength, speed, durability, and reflexes, as well as inhuman sharpening of the 5 senses. Tests realized on the Fluctlight before its escape showed her capable to easily crush steel of the highest caliber with her bare hands, tear through the scales and flesh of riding dragons with ease and survive being continuously attacked by metallic weapons (Blunt and sharp) without much effort. Divine Instruments are still able to easily harm the Fluctlight, though. Also, the power comes with a serious drawback: The Fluctlight in question loses the ability to ingest normal food, needing to drink fresh blood (Which is now extremely appetizing for the user) to conserve its strength. The longer the user goes without drinking blood, the weaker the Fluctlight becomes, and the more it's dominated by its baser instincts (The 'vampire attire' was created following designated specifications, and it seems to make the Fluctlight more comfortable and facilitate her movement, for some unknown reason)._

 _Threat Level to the Underworld:_ _Demon (Medium Low)_

 _-Status: Target B is very dangerous but noticeably less of a threat than she could be. The tests realized on her, the destiny of her family and the nature of her 'Curse' have made the Fluctlight mentally and psychologically weak, going so far as to refuse to drink any more blood after being force-fed human blood for the third time (During tests to see if the source of the blood changer her Curse's efficiency), almost seriously injuring both himself and the testers in charge of her because of it, which is what ended up leading to the 'Incident' that released her._

 **Warning, the following data's level of security is considered at least 5 times higher than the previous one (Objective Level 'Omega'), proceed at your own risk:**

 _-Fluctlight #110693: 'Ronye Arabel' (Target A)_

 _-Divine Curse: HOMELESS EMPEROR (Dragon). One of the most terrifyingly powerful Curses/Blessings registered active without having destroyed the Fluctlight's self-awareness to date, this particular Curse offers almost no enhancements to the user's body itself, but grants an absurdly powerful capacity to summon a denominated 'Destruction Energy', which the Fluctlight can shoot from her hands in the shape of spheres (Around 50 centimeters of radius at maximum), which explode a few seconds after being thrown, or as concentrated beams from the fingers, less controllable but more powerful and with longer range. To the last date of testing before her escape, not a single substance, material or creature (Even some caught and brought from the Dark Territory) within the Underworld has proven immune to the properties of this curse's power. Anything that enters into contact with the energy suffers a process of 'disintegration' that takes slightly longer depending on the object's Durability, but still seem able to annihilate anything in its way. Even more terrifying is that, when against a living being, the energy seems to completely ignore Authority and tear through flesh without problems. Even Divine Instruments are not immune to this 'Destruction Energy', one of the main reasons why Integrity Knights had been banned from direct confrontation with this Fluctlight. For some reason, it also seem to grant a vulgarly called 'Dirty Aura' to the user, causing an inability to keep the clothing she wears in good shape or her personal cleanliness up to what's considered as 'acceptable' standards (The ragged cape was also provided under specific instructions, and seem to be the only piece of clothing the Fluctlight can conserve in nigh-perfect state)._

 _Threat Level to the Underworld:_ _Dragon (High)_

 _-Status: Target A is the single reason both fugitives have been able to evade capture for almost a year now, and also the cause behind our hesitation to send the Integrity Knights directly after them every time they're found. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she's, currently, the single most dangerous 'criminal' within the Human World, and one of the most dangerous existences in the Underworld (It was confirmed that both criminals managed to move from Wesdarath to Norlangarth by having her **open a hole through the Immortal Wall** ). The fact that she's the only registered Fluctlight with a 'Disaster Level Dragon' Curse that still retains all of her human thought and understanding only makes her more so, and also why she was originally going to undergo the Synthesis Ritual before her escape. Nevertheless, this has also caused a terrifying amount of mental and psychological damage to the Fluctlight in question, though this is of no surprise. As of the current Date (Human Empire Calendar), not a single Fluctlight within the Underworld has a higher number of kills to their name than Target A._

 **Given this data, it should be obvious why any chance of the two fugitives making contact and/or joining the 'Anomaly Group' ranges from undesirable to borderline catastrophic. While Target B can be eliminated without much worry, the recovery of Target A and her subsequent assimilation within the Axiom Church's ranks is vital for the sake of the Underworld, just a step below the recovery of 'Selka Zuberg' and her ability to gaze into the future. Having Synthesis 27 going after them by himself is a risk in every way, never mind the fact that he's one of the only two Integrity Knights that have a 'Curse' instead of a 'Blessing' (Despite how positive the psychological changes he suffered since his own awoke have been for the Axiom Church). That means violence and chaos are rooted in his very Fluctlight, no matter how loyal he is.**

 **…permission granted to order Synthesis 22 (Still in the nearby area) to back him up. Both objectives of Priority Level Omega must be recovered alive. All the others can be terminated, for the sake of the Underworld's balance.**

 **END OF REPORT LOG.**

 **SENDING TO ADMINISTRATOR…**

 **…**

 **…**

…k…i….l…l…t…h…e…m…a…l…l…

* * *

 _Next…_

 **In this World, Justice is twisted…**

 _The young Seer stared in shock at the two silent girls, unable to believe her ears._

 _Selka: The-they did all those horrible things to you…why?_

 _Ronye: Because we were Cursed with these…abilities…_

 _Tiese:…why did the Gods give us this? Why have they forsaken us?_

 **…to follow only those who serve the Power…**

 _The green-eyed boy stared at his caped friend in shock._

 _Eugeo: You want to…take them with us?! Are you insane?!_

 _Kirito: Well, what do you expect?! We can't just abandon them!_

 _Eugeo: Kirito, even if you go and ignore all the danger they put US in…wouldn't they themselves be in even more danger if they follow us?_

 **…and anyone who tries to oppose this cruel reality…**

 _Kirito: What did you say…?_

 _Ronye: I…we heard there is a place with more like us in Eastabarieth…we were trying to get there ourselves…_

 _Selka: A place with…more criminals?_

 **…will end up being crushed.**

 _Falling to one knee, the pale boy gasped for breath as blood covered the grass, staring up with hate towards the winged figure as his knives flew back to his hands._

 _Eugeo: How are you…doing that…?_

 _Renri: As expected of a monster like you…despite having those powerful weapons, and even hearing the voice of one, you can't even connect with their souls…_

 _Eugeo: What the hell…are you talking about…?_

 _Renri: Let me show you, as the last thing you will ever see in this world, criminal…RELEASE RECOLLECTION!_

 _The terrible screeching of a bird drilled through the boy's ear, even as a winged white cross burned into reality…_

 **Next time on 'One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate':**

 **Chapter 5: A Blade's Soul**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Man, there is some terrible cosmic joke behind Eugeo and Tiese's first meeting in this universe resulting in them trying to kill each other (And the former almost managing it), don't you think?

Anyway, that's the first chapter of this new arc down, and pretty much set the tone and the main plot of it. As you can see, the changes from Canon are already beyond radical and are only going to escalate even more as Kirito keeps walking down the nigh-literal rabbit hole that is the Underworld. Best Kouhais Ronye and Tiese have been introduced, but life hasn't been even remotely as kind with them in this Universe as Canon was (Even counting the events of vol11 AND the Underworld War). On the other hand, they got two very broken powersets, Ronye especially so (OPM fans must especially find this terrifying and amusing. I myself just couldn't believe the coincidence that, as of the moment I'm writing this, the manga's latest chapter showed quite a few pages of Pureblood Vampire and the first view, if only his back, of Homeless Emperor outside the webcomic. Talk about coincidences XP) Deeper explanations about them and what exactly happened to them will be coming next chapter!

Also, if it wasn't obvious, this chapter also hinted at the deeper meaning behind the whole 'Curses/Blessings' system and how it's more than it seems. In fact, this arc will center in explaining/showing how it has deeply affected the Underworld and its inhabitants way more than meets the eye, from an 'inner' perspective, before we get the actual 'technological' full explanation in the second Interlude.

But for now, I just hope you enjoyed the chapter! And with that, I leave you with today's RWBY Omake, for those interested in it! Let's go!

* * *

 **Omake: Capes and Roses 4**

Beacon's cafeteria was…surprisingly normal, despite being in a school supposed to train the future protectors of mankind. In hindsight, this wasn't really a surprise, though, as what exactly would anyone put in a cafeteria to make it seem more Huntsman/Huntress-like? Weapons decorations? Statues of Grimm being slain?

Among the exceptionally normal and unimpressive atmosphere of teenagers in a cafeteria, though, Teams RWBY and JNPR sitting on the same table clearly stood up, especially as they not-so-silently tried to make Jaune accept he had a problem regarding Cardin Winchester.

The aforementioned first year bully and his team (CRDL), were currently harassing a fellow student a couple tables away, the brown-haired and rabbit-eared Faunus girl just meekly trying to have them leave her alone despite her clear discomfort and mortification (Not to mention being a second year and, as such, theoretically having way more practice and training than the first years) as the teen that was clearly more muscle than brain pulled on her animal traits with clear amusement.

"That guy really is the worse…" grumbled Ruby while glaring towards the brown-haired bully, almost everyone else in the table doing the same. "Jaune, are you sure you don't want any…?"

"Guys, it's fine!" insisted the 'knight' of the group while making a very poor attempt at masking his discomfort about the topic, stopping his glaring in Cardin's way in favor of giving them al an awkward smile. "I really don't need any help with…"

And that was as far as Jaune went before what seemed like a coffee's plate flew past his head in the other table's direction, everyone's wide eyes following its trajectory as the saucer slammed perfectly against Cardin's forehead with unholy force, at the exact angle needed for, despite how impossible it looked, rebound and crash against his three teammates' foreheads too, knocking all of them CRDL out as they fell to the ground unconscious, their aura having somehow not fully protecting it from the concussive force in the perfect spot the now cracked plate hit them at.

A very confused and shocked Velvet Scarlatina was left standing beside the 4 unconscious first years, her eyes and those all the cafeteria fixed on the miraculous saucer as it rolled away, a couple of students even following it.

Which is why, when a calm voice came from just beside Ruby was sitting, only the two teams in the table noticed and turned towards it in shock, the youngest among them almost squeaking in surprise.

"You know, it's foolish to pretend you don't need help, and even more to deny it when your friends offer it to you." Casually commented Kirito while sitting at the very edge of the bench (If to look away from them or to not be awkwardly close to Ruby being anyone's guess), casually drinking from a coffee cup in his hand. "Believe me, 'pride always comes before the fall', as they say."

"Re-really…?" mumbled Jaune while looking from the weirdly dressed 'boy' to the four unconscious bullies.

"Ki-Kirito! You're still around!" happily commented the young reaper once she recovered from her shock.

"And, once again, you're sneaking illegally into our school, it seems." grinned Yang as if it was no big deal while giving him a thumbs-up. "That throw was awesome, by the way! I mean, I don't even know how you did it, and I myself have done some crazy stuff!"

"Eh, that was nothing. Steve and that damned shield of his would have left you open-mouthed, I'm nowhere near as good in that as he is…then again, he was THE Captain…" mumbled the caped hero while looking to the ceiling, as if lost in a faraway memory.

"Let's forget about that for the moment and ask the real question…why did you do that?" demanded Weiss with narrowed eyes (Even if she, like the others, was really curious about who or what he was talking about) while looking from the unconscious bullies to Kirito. "Not that I especially care for those four uncultured idiots getting what they deserve, but do you know in how much trouble you could get if someone found you trespassing and realized you attacked 4 students?"

"Yeah…why did you do it?" asked Blake with surprising interest, her eyes moving from the retreating and confused Faunus girl to the strange friend of her team leader.

"A better question would be, why didn't any of YOU do anything, don't you think?" shot back the Heroic Spirit while turning around and giving them all a neutral look, which sent a strange shiver down the eight teenagers' backs for some reason. "I saw how you all looked, you more than wanted to intervene, but you didn't. Why?"

"We-well, because…" started to say Pyrrha with a troubled look, exchanging looks with Jaune before the only other male of the group spoke up.

"I believe the reasoning is because we all thought it would only have made things worse or more complicated if we tried to." explained Ren with his usual stoic tone, though looking right towards the caped hero with an unusually interested gaze. "But you should have been able to deduce that yourself, right?"

"Yes, of course I did…but what of it?" replied Kirito without any hesitation, sending another wave of surprise through the two teams. "Is knowing things 'could' get worse really an excuse to let someone else get away with malice and think that what they're doing is right because no one ever stops them? Aren't Huntsmen and Huntresses supposed to make sure things don't get worse for everyone in the first place?"

"It seems this is bothering you a lot…do you dislike bullies that much?" questioned Nora while tilting her head to the side, an unusually serious tone in her quick question.

"…not bullies exactly, even if I don't like them either, but…I just can't stand those that think themselves better than others just for what they are, what they do, or by principle…" whispered the 'boy' while closing his eyes…

 _A winged warrior with twin knives looking down at them as if their existence was a sin…_

 _A four-armed being with an absurdly thin blade surrounded by countless humanoid creatures, an inhumanly loyal army meant to be puppets of injustice…_

 _A cocky-looking knight with a whip in his hand, smiling at him as the weapon bit forward like a feral snake…_

 _Two childish figures, one with glasses and a lab coat and the other with a prisoner clothes and a ball and chain on her leg, lording over the ones doomed to the darkness…_

"…Kirito? Everything okay?" Ruby's voice made the heroic spirit open his eyes again, way from distant and bitter memories before offering her one of his most natural smiles.

"Yeah Ruby, I'm fine, just lost in thought. But back to the topic at hand, if I had to give you a reason for what I did, Weiss, it would be simply because 'All that Good has to do for Evil to win is Nothing'." sagely quoted the caped hero while raising a finger, only to sigh at seeing the full meaning of the phrase flying over the heads of at least three of the people looking at him. "In simpler terms, I think you could excuse it as that, sometimes, the worst thing you can actually do is do nothing at all."

The sound of a metallic tray almost falling off the table, everyone's eyes moving in surprise towards where Lie Ren was sitting, the boy's eyes wide and his face slightly pale, his hands opening and closing as Kirito's words echoed through his head and brought back very dark memories, suddenly unable to believe he had actually stood up and done nothing while the Faunus was harassed.

"Rennie?" asked Nora with clear worry while putting a hand on her lifelong friend's arm. "…want to go back to the room and rest?"

"…ye-yes Nora, please." mumbled the double-dagger user while the girl helped him up, everyone staring dumbfounded at how gentle and calm she was being all of a sudden. "Excuse me, friends, I…am not feeling well, and need to think a bit. Please, tell Professor Oobleck I got sick."

Silently, everyone nodded even as they saw Nora looking actually understanding as she helped out (Not dragged, actually helped out!) Ren walk away, giving Kirito a complicated look before once again concentrating fully on her childhood friend.

A couple seconds of silence passed before the Heroic Spirit broke the silence.

"I…take it I stumbled upon a touchy subject for him with those words?" questioned him while looking at the two remaining members of Team JNPR.

"I…I don't know, I have…we really haven't talked too much about our lives or families…" muttered Jaune while looking down, suddenly feeling at a loss from his teammate's reaction, realizing he actually didn't know much about the team he was supposed to lead besides how good friends they were, and how his current attitude may actually be just spitting on that sincere offer of friendly help.

"I think we should give them some time. Those two are pretty close for reasons only them know, so I'm sure Nora will help him and they will share anything they need to with us later." comfortably spoke Pyrrha while putting a hand on her partner's shoulder, receiving a small smile from the blond knight in return. "Right now, we should get ready for class, though."

"I-I guess you're right…" mumbled Ruby with a small frown, a thoughtful look on her face, both from Ren's startling reaction and for her first friend's words about 'Good' and 'Evil'. "Hmm…that's actually a pretty good advice, Kirito! I will make sure to always follow it from now o…! Eh? Where did he go?!"

"He…just vanished again." whispered Blake with a raised eyebrow, looking at the space the missing 'boy' had occupied just seconds ago, mulling his words in her head, unable to decide if they were admirable or foolish.

"He's certainly filled with surprises in more ways than one. Didn't take him for being so philosophical…" commented Weiss while remembering having read the words herself long ago, in her family's library, a torrent of mixed feelings and memories filling her mind as she did so.

"I just really want to know how he keeps sneaking around without anyone noticing." sighed Yang as she stood up, though she also subtly sent a quick glance to the way in which her little sister was pouting towards where her weird friend had been. "It certainly seems very useful, eh, Rubes?"

"I guess…but I would prefer if he gave me his scroll number or something, sometimes I don't even know if I will see him again." lamented the young leader of Team RWBY, ignorant of the way in which her sister was grinning at her words.

It seemed Yang had just found a new way of having fun in the upcoming days…

Meanwhile, just outside Team JNPR's room…Kirito silently leaned against the wall beside the door with his eyes closed, his unrealistically sharp senses letting the Heroic Spirit perfectly hear the, for everyone that knew them so far, bizarrely abnormal scene taking place inside the room.

Namely, that of Nora Valkyrie comforting Lie Ren with an understanding and soothing tone, the usually stoic boy sunk in a silence that was completely unlike his normal one, taking solace and comfort in how the closest person he had in the world told him everything was, and would continue being, alright.

Not even opening his eyes, the Caped Hero smiled softly in approval, a wave of incomplete thoughts and feelings going through his link with the Throne letting him know his family approved too, before blurring away in a burst of speed, ready to continue his silent vigil.

It was the small things like that what always reminded him why he kept moving forward with a determined smile, no matter how eternal or harsh his 'curse' was.

Sometimes, the simpler things were the ones most worth protecting, after all…

* * *

 **Author's Notes 2:** A bit more emotional, but still fun I hope, Omake this time! And with this, Kirito's presence officially shall start changing canon RWBY in significant ways, subtly at first but more noticeably as things move forward, especially with the first 'serious' incident of the series literally one step away.

Also, I love RWBY, pretty sure many do, but sometimes Rooster Teeth does things that are beyond facepalm-worthy. I know a lot of Fanfic authors are on both sides of the gang not doing anything when they saw Cardin bullying Velvet, especially Blake, and that can still be understood if it feels a bit forced…but then vol4 happened and they literally made the secret behind the root of Ren's character to be "the worst things you can do is do nothing at all", involving a trauma that literally destroyed his life, cost him everything he loved and sent him and Nora in a lonely life for years before Beacon. And with that exactly having been told to him after _a group of bullies_ harassed the girl that would become the most important person in his life. Which makes the fact he acted like nothing was wrong upon seeing Velvet's situation beyond unreal, unless he had forgotten all of his past until vol4 happened…

Well, nothing more to say this time, except hope you enjoyed the Omake. Oh, and ReNora for life XD!

Till next time, this is Saint, signing off!


	8. Chapter 5: A Blade's Soul

Here we are, back with the sequel to my biggest work! It's been some time, huh?

So, for those who don't know, this was because of my latest work, 'SAO: The Eroge' (Check it out if you haven't!), but after some work on it I have finally decided upon a new Update Schedule rotating between my 3 currently active fics: The Eroge, Lusus Naturae and OPG:CoF! And so this time is Chains of Fate's turn :D!

Now then, there is not much else to say this time before starting. Only that I hope you're still around, and let's see what happens with Kirito and the Underworld's gang as things get crazier around them…

 **PS:** This chapter was Betaed by good old Pikatwins! Thanks as always, pal :)

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Chapter 5: A Blade's Soul**

 _Tired and scared. That was how she felt in that moment._

 _To be fair, though, that's exactly how she had felt for several months. Since the moment her life took a turn for the worse._

 _Why…why did it have to happen to her? She did nothing wrong. She never did or wished anything bad or anyone. She followed the Taboo Index without hesitation like any good girl would._

 _She didn't even feel any special pride about being part of a Noble Family. Granted, it was just a low-class one, but she had known some people of a similar uprising that still thought themselves better than the rest just because they were born in a specific family._

 _Ronye Arabel had never thought that way. Mainly because, as kind and gentle as she was, the brown-haired girl knew she wasn't really anyone special._

 _Maybe one day she would follow tradition and join the Sword Arts Academy if she was lucky and wasn't married off to some upper class noble. Maybe she would be lucky and become skilled enough to live a happy, if simple, life of her own choosing._

 _Luck. In the end, it came down to that, didn't it?_

 _Because it had to be luck, the worst horrible kind, which made her family go on that simple summer trip to Norlangarth's biggest lake._

 _And also what made them find themselves in the middle of a fight between a humanoid cockroach with the strength of a hundred men and a man within a giant dog-like suit wearing a knight cape and shoulder-pauldrons over it._

 _The whole thing sounded absurd, almost comical. Especially as, having grown in Centoria most of her life, she had shared her family and most people's mentality that the rumors about the world growing 'chaotic' were exactly that, rumors and bad jokes._

 _It wasn't funny at all, though, when she found herself the only one alive after the whole nightmare was over, her family's bodies not far from her. Even less when she felt something on the back of her mind just crumbling in denial, her heart seeming to break as a despair she didn't know humans were able to feel consumed her._

 _And that was how the 13 years old had cried and screamed her heart out when the dog-suited knight had moved to her side and asked if she was hurt…and how she accidentally had turned around and blown a hole straight through his head as if it was made of glass, blood, bone, and more splattering everywhere._

 _Ronye Arabel had just stared at the horrible scene, vaguely aware of her right eye burning and exploding before she screamed again, all but entering into shock as she rolled through the ground._

 _That's how they found her later, sobbing, shaking, missing an eye and staring at her hands. And dirty, of course._

 _She would forever be dirty after that. Within her mind, it was just a way for the world to remind her of what she had become. Because, even if she didn't look any different outwardly, even if she was luckier than almost every single other person she had seen after that, at the facility they took her in Wesdarath, it didn't change at all what she was._

 _Cursed. A monster._

 _A being that existed solely for destruction._

 _And that was why, as she leaned on the inhuman red-haired girl that had just sworn to protect her as they left behind the burning and exploding remains of the facility that day, she did her best to ignore her tiredness and hunger. Even as she heard the roars or shouts of those others they had been 'experimenting' with as they tried and succeeded or failed to subdue their oppressors, she promised she would never forget._

 _That, in one way or another, just to escape and survive, she had doomed them all, and every innocent person those that weren't 'victims', like her and Tiese, came across after escaping._

 _Such was her nature, after all._

 _To destroy…_

* * *

 **4th Month of the Human Empire Calendar, 379. Norlangarth, Eastern Forests. Night…**

Eyes snapping open from the mix of nightmare and memories, Ronye tried to jump to her feet, panicking the moment she realized she couldn't. For a moment, she was about to call forth that power within her, that disgusting and _dirty_ force that could only Destroy, when a hand settled upon her shoulder, squeezing it gently.

Beyond helping her realize she couldn't move because she had gotten entangled with a surprisingly warm blanket (Compared to using her dirty cape as one), it was the feelings that the stranger's hand brought that calmed her down.

Tiese's hand was kind and understanding, but also marred with a despair she knew very well, filled with regret and self-hate.

This one, though…it carried a gentle warmth that promised safety, yet also a strong conviction in its power to ensure it happened.

Idly moving her eyes upwards, the brown-haired girl was greeted by Kirito's worried smile.

"You okay? It looked as if you were having a nightmare."

"A-ah…I'm fine…" mumbled Ronye while looking away, not wanting him to see her dirty face. "Just…"

"Here, take this." To the Cursed One's surprise, the boy seemed to ignore her half-formed excuse and put what looked like a slice of bread in her hands. "It's from this morning so it shouldn't be too hard yet. Eat and then tell me if you're thirsty, okay? You look terrible, it's better if you recover your strength."

"Tha-thank you…" whispered the girl while, slowly, biting into the bread, feeling her cheeks blushing and her eyes filling with tears as the cape-wearing fighter nodded and stood up, walking away.

After all, when was the last time anyone had been kind to her…?

For his part, Kirito released a tired sigh, rubbing his eyes for a moment before fighting against his tiredness and walking through the impromptu camp they had set up, wondering how things could have gotten so crazy in less than 24 hours, and just when they were planning on doing their big move at that.

Then, he remembered this was his life he was talking about and just grunted in frustration, cursing Fate.

Even so, he kept moving forward, finally arriving at where a frowning Eugeo, now completely regenerated, sat beside the fire they had lit up, arms crossed and an undecipherable expression on his face.

The gamer already knew what he was going to say before he even sat down, so it didn't really surprise him much, all things considered.

"You want to take them with us."

"Yes, I do. We can't exactly abandon them, you know?" calmly replied Kirito while looking at the fire, the image of several girls and four boys smiling as they all sat in the living room of a log house as the chimney suddenly filling his mind before he put it away, trying to not let the longing consume him. "How is Tiese-san?"

"Don't try to dodge the question, partner! Are you insane?" asked the undead boy with a way calmer tone than the gamer would have expected from him. "One of them drinks blood and the other can shoot energy able to melt through flesh as if it was sugar before water. And neither of them is able to properly control it."

"And you're deadlier than a battalion of soldiers and can't be put down by conventional means, but you're still here with us. Then again…you obviously already know that." retorted Kirito with narrowed eyes. "So, what's the real point of this?"

"Kirito…even if we're willing and can ignore the danger they pose to US, won't coming with us be much worse for them?" explained Eugeo while finally looking straight into the other boy's eyes. "There is no way we can pull off our original plan with them, not to mention we have metaphorical targets painted on our backs."

"They do too, if you remember. We can always find another way to get into Centoria after rethinking things and…ugh." massaging his forehead, the black-haired boy suddenly looked way more tired than the undead one ever remembered seeing him, a melancholic smile in his face. "I have a little sister, back in my world. I was…horrible and ignored her for a long time during our childhood. Maybe now we get along…way better than ever, but I don't ever want to make that mistake again. Of ignoring someone I could have helped and wasted what could have been something precious…"

"…accursed Gods, why do you remind me so much of how I was when I was a kid?" chuckled the unorthodox dual wielder while standing up, a nostalgic look on his face. "Tiese is sleeping with Selka watching over her, though she's no doubt going to fall asleep soon herself, so I will bring her over here and take her place. Also, just so you know…I would have accepted anyway. Because that's what Alice would have done. Being kind to everyone was just part of her nature."

"I…see." mumbled Kirito while wincing slightly, a melodious laugh and a mirage of golden hair suddenly flashing through his mind for an unknown reason. "She sounds like a great person. Can't wait to meet her when we save her."

"Heh, I'm sure you will get along greatly, partner." commented the green-eyed boy while walking away to recover Selka from where the group's new 'vampire' was sleeping. "She could give you a run for your money in taking others off guard, after all."

For some reason, as he saw his undead friend walking away…the boy from another world couldn't help but think he was right, for some reason he couldn't understand.

And as he drifted to sleep under the fire's warmth, unaware how an amused Eugeo would put a sleeping Selka to rest against him when he came back, the gamer's dreams were filled with memories of his dearly missed friends and family…and strange visions he would later only half-remember, the sound of an axe hitting a tree, childish laughter and a hauntingly familiar yet unknown smile filling them…

* * *

Tiese Shtolienen was a monster. This was a reality she had long-since fully accepted.

That's why she felt extremely out of place under Selka Zuberg's friendly conversation the next day, the young girl apparently trying to cheer her and Ronye as they followed after the two older boys deeper into the forest.

Even when it was just between her and Ronye, such childish and carefree talk or mood almost never came up, and if it did it quickly died off because of the reality of their situation.

Trying to distract herself from how weird she felt the young girl's attempts of being nice with them were, the redhead looked towards their two guides, her gaze quickly moving past the surprisingly normal (aside from being a skilled fighter) black-haired boy to settle into the pale one carrying the axe and the sword.

His was probably the strangest and most complex case she had ever seen since she and Ronye escaped from that facility what seemed like a lifetime ago.

He was Blessed, not Cursed, yet he treated his Blessing almost as if it was a Curse on itself.

The power to not Die sounded amazingly well, especially given it seemed to have barely affected his human looks, but it was clear that the one called Eugeo didn't consider that at all. At best, he considered it a tool he could take advantage of, and at worst…

Shuddering, the girl tried to erase the calm resignation with which the boy had talked while missing most of his upper body, seemingly understanding and calm, just after having almost murdered her with almost terrifying precision and easiness.

Eugeo was strong, indubitably the strongest of the three. And he was nigh-unstoppable unless you had a power in the scale of Ronye's or knew beforehand what to expect when facing him.

The green-eyed boy was a skilled and almost perfect killing machine. Neither fully dead nor alive, seemingly stuck in between, or so he had told them. The foul taste of his blood certainly seemed to agree.

And yet…he was also very caring, able to understand and worry for others and focused on keeping them safe. Even in seemingly insignificant ways like taking young Selka away from her once she fell asleep, then standing watch over her himself.

He was someone that hadn't fallen to despair. Someone that was trying to overcome his situation with a fixed goal and that would do his best to fulfill it.

A bizarre contradiction, so similar yet different to her…it made her wonder.

If there truly was hope for someone like them…

"Uhm, excuse me…where are we going?" shyly asked Ronye while finally breaking the strangely awkward atmosphere, both boys stopping and looking at her in slight surprise.

"…well, I was wondering if either of you was going to say something." commented Eugeo while looking to his partner.

"Right now, we're trying to get as far away from Terubi as possible, Ronye-san. There was an Integrity Knight there early yesterday looking for you two." explained Kirito with an even tone, easily seeing how both girls tensed upon the mention of the Axiom Church's servant. "This way, the only thing we can head towards is the Immortal Wall separating Norlangarth and Eastabarieth…that's where you were heading anyway, isn't it?"

"I…we…what about you three?!" all but shouted the younger of the two fugitives, shaking in place with clear distress. "Yo-you were planning another way of getting away, right? You had the supplies and everything…w-we are just…"

"We're not going to abandon you, Ronye-san." softly declared Selka, surprising the older girl by the mature look as she put a hand on her shoulder. "The Goddesses may have let the world fall into chaos…but I know you're not a bad person. Just like…just like I wasn't when I broke Taboo Index to save Kirito."

"…you're all crazy, you know that?" mumbled Tiese while her gaze quickly moved over each member of the strange trio. "Even if you're all Criminals too…none of you is cursed. You have seen what we can do…and you're still willing to go out of your way to help us? Even if it means…maybe dooming yourselves to share our Fate?"

"I don't believe in that 'Fate' nonsense. Nothing and no one will tell me if someone is worth protecting or not." declared Eugeo with a firm tone, drawing the redhead towards him as he stared towards the horizon beyond the treetops, a longing look in his eyes. "That's the path I chose long ago and I will keep walking through it until…I fulfill my most important promise."

"That's…" started to speak the vampire before finding herself at a loss for words, blushing at her sudden inability to complete her thoughts. "…a very noble way of thinking. So much that some may call it foolish…"

"Perhaps…but I can't die. There are very few things I can actually regret." shrugged the undead boy before resuming his walking, a sad smile on his face. "So I will stick by those words until I no longer can."

"…that's my partner's way of saying that we won't just abandon you if you need help." clarified Kirito with an awkward look. "…why are you even heading to Eastabarieth anyway?"

"…because we heard there is a safe place for us there." revealed Ronye with a hopeful look, before her friend looked at her shock.

"Ro-Ronye, wait! We don't know…!"

"No, Tiese. We can trust them. Perhaps…they may be the first people we can in years." firmly continued the 'dirty' one before taking a determined step towards Kirito. "Back when we were hiding in Wesdarath, we heard a rumor. That there is a place in Eastabarieth that the Axiom Church has been trying to find for years…a refuge, so to speak, where Criminals that no one except an Integrity Knight can deal with have hidden. Cursed ones…like us."

"Wait…you mean that…there is actually a group of people with 'Divine Curses' that has gathered together? Hiding away from the Axiom Church without them being able to find it?" asked the black-haired boy with a suddenly tense tone.

In his mind, the images of a terrifying horde of monsters living under an almost-completely-abandoned city suddenly returned, of terrifyingly powerful beings standing together to oppose the Heroes of the World

If those guys were anything like the Monsters Association…

"Yes. we…were desperate and thought it was our best choice, so we risked it and decided we would head there. Ronye blasted us a path through the Immortal Way and that's how we got into Norlangarth. That was months ago." added Tiese with a resigned look, her eyes moving towards her pale hands and the sharp claws she had for nails. "We figured that, maybe…we could find a place to belong to there. Somewhere others wouldn't judge us for being monsters…"

"You're not monsters." bluntly declared Eugeo from where he was now standing on a tree's taller branch, scanning the road ahead as far as he could. "But that does sound like our best bet now. You say that your friend there can open a hole in the Immortal Wall? Then, maybe, we have a chance…"

"Do-does that mean we will…head for Eastabarieth? To where all these Cursed ones are?" asked Selka with clear apprehension. "How can we even find them?"

"The rumors say that you don't 'find' them…they have someone that protects them and looks for others like them, someone as strong as an Integrity Knight." explained Ronye with a mix of worry and hope in her voice. "I don't know if it's true or just another exaggeration and no one back in Wesdarath knew any details about this supposed person, except that they were called…'The Rider'."

"Rider…?" repeated Kirito with wide eyes, his mind once again wandering away.

For a moment, a figure riding a bike and wielding a shinai through the night appeared clearly in his mind, so close he could almost touch her. It was easily replaced by that of a smiling young girl, leaning forward and whispering how much she loved him as she neared in for a kiss…

"…to? Kirito, are you okay?" asked a worried Selka upon noticing the boy's spaced out look.

"Sugu…" answered the gamer before closing his eyes and sighing, looking back at the confused girls before turning and nodding towards Eugeo. "Okay…let's do this."

"Hoh? Aren't you going to say something about how crazy or dangerous this idea could be?" wondered the undead one with honest surprise.

"Let's just say…I have a good feeling about this." grinned Kirito before motioning for the girls to follow. "Here is hoping I'm not wrong."

Without hesitation, Selka nodded and followed, her earlier doubt seeming to have evaporated as she skipped to the caped boy's side and matched his pace.

After a second of hesitation, Ronye and Tiese followed.

And as she saw the beginnings of an actual smile on her friend's face after what felt like ages, the redhead vampire couldn't help but think…that maybe it was true.

Maybe, despite what they were and all their sins, there was really hope waiting for them at the end of this journey…

* * *

This place was nowhere.

Such a description would probably confuse anyone that heard it, no matter how true it was.

After all, if you were to look for it on a map, or try and locate it anywhere within the Underworld, the massive library, filled to the brink with forgotten or forbidden knowledge, would never be found. Never appear to you.

Only its lonely master could open a path here. Or, to be more precise, create a 'door' that allowed the isolated space to be connected once again to the World.

Or to the Main Server, really. After all, she had made sure that this small piece of the world was like a completely separate area, like a Hard Disk completely blocked from the rest of the Light Cube Cluster's main computer.

Of course, not a single person within the Underworld would understand those concepts. In fact, they would probably not even know the 'actual name' of their world, or what it meant for it. For all of them.

That said, those weren't the thoughts filling the mind of the small figure standing in the middle of one of the library's biggest rooms. For once.

No, right now, what the being who looked like a little girl (Looking no older than 10) with chestnut-brown eyes and hair was fully centered on was an extremely complex 'phenomenon' of black energy that seemed to twist in all directions, power like no other gathering within the 'sphere' as streams of words in English (Or Sacred Tongue, as it was known in that world) escaped her lips.

It was ironic, really. The doll-like girl of milky white skin wore a magician-like robe with velvet-like luster and a greatly inflated hat made from the same material. In her hands, a staff longer than her own height rested, which combined with everything else made her look like an elderly scholar. Her most striking feature, though, was her eyes, fringed by long eyelashes and beyond the round glasses daintily worn on her nose.

They seemed like two endless pools of infinite wisdom. Like gates to forbidden knowledge that no living person should possess.

They were, without a doubt, the thing that allowed anyone to know this was no child, no matter what she looked like. The only hint that you were standing in presence of one of the most powerful beings in the Underworld.

Finally, with what looked like a small sigh, the 'little girl' fell silent, the strange phenomenon ending.

From within the powerful energy…something long and so black it seemed to draw all light around it and extinguish it without mercy started to descend.

It was a blade. One that was somehow gleaming despite looking like nothing more than a piece of the night sky someone had removed all the stars from.

Before it could crash down, however, a long articulate limb caught the hilt, somehow keeping it up despite only touching it.

If the mysterious librarian was shocked or scared by the sudden apparition of the massive monster that now held the sword, she didn't show it.

Then again, why would a creator have to fear their own child?

"It's done. Such power, such memories…truly, who would have thought that wretched woman would ever leave something like that lying around? Well, guess she never thought someone would bring it down, even less that they could turn it against her…" spoke the 'little girl' with a mix of amusement and disappointment.

Eight eyes stared at her with apparently no emotion, clicking sounds and growls answering her…and, somehow, she nodded, perfectly understanding their meaning.

"Yes, I know this won't be enough. It will be an extra edge, but nowhere near enough to tip the scales. No, what truly may yet stop this world's greatest catastrophe won't be that blade…but it will certainly help." whispered the librarian before, with no hesitation, slamming the butt of her staff on the ground.

A beautiful sheath formed in the air, seemingly from nowhere, floating and encasing the sword's blade until it connected perfectly with its guard. Slowly, the massive beast adjusted its 'grip' on the weapon, treating it with almost tender care.

Once again, it 'spoke', still with those seemingly unintelligible and sinister sounds. And yet again, the mysterious sage seemingly understood, an amused smile on her face.

"Who is it for? Why, my dear, I thought that should be obvious. Only one of them can carry the burden of wielding that abomination…whether they know it or not yet." sentenced the not-child with almost ominous intent, finally turning to fully gaze at the massive creature. "I'm counting on you to do the right thing, Charlotte."

For a moment, there was no answer.

Then, the enormous monster _nodded_ and, before the librarian's very eyes, started to **shrink** , taking the sword with her until she was so small it could barely be seen. Without another sound, the now minuscule being skittered away, heading once again to the chaotic and doomed world outside.

Releasing a tired sigh once again, the 'little girl' took off her diminutive glasses as she sat on the closest chair, staring at them and looking the vague reflection that hadn't changed in what seemed like a lifetime. In that very moment, she felt immensely tired, as if all the years, all the loneliness and regret for her failures were finally catching up to her.

Without effort, she crushed them, pushing aside any 'human' thought and sinking once again into the cold logic and the machine-like thinking that had allowed her to last for so long.

She was no human, after all. The little girl had died the moment SHE had become aware, for good or bad…and now, it fell on her to use this last ray of hope to, at least, save this doomed world the suffering that awaited it.

"I'm Cardinal." declared the librarian to no one, her voice seemingly echoing in the empty walls of the abandoned library. "And I shall fulfill my ultimate purpose to the very end…even if this world needs to end so that no one keeps suffering."

With that ominous declaration, the one called Cardinal stood up, walking deeper into the library for a rare moment of rest. There was still much to do, after all.

There was no guarantee the boy with the cape would truly be able to prevent the Chaos from consuming them, after all…

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a failure of a knight called Renri Synthesis Twenty-seven.

Despite being an Integrity Knight, there couldn't be anyone more hopeless than him having ever possessed the title.

He was a coward. He always hesitated. He had no confidence in himself despite his talent.

He couldn't even activate the powerful 'Divine Object' he had been gifted with, the beautiful Twin Edged Wings. No matter how much he tried, the pair of steel throwing knives that were bent in the middle would never answer his call.

Everyone knew he was hopeless, even himself. He just thought they were too polite to tell it to his face, how much of a disappointment he was.

…until the day he accompanied two of his fellow Integrity Knights into what should have been an ordinary, boring and simple scout mission.

Things weren't supposed to turn out as they had. He could still remember, in his nightmares, how the ground had started rumbling, how the trees had started breaking apart, how his two senior knights screamed for him to move as they rushed back to their dragons, his horrified gaze dragged into the titanic figure emerging from the earth, as tall as an Immortal Wall, longer than Central Cathedral's base…

And with a monstrously deformed human face on its 'forehead'.

Synthesis Twenty-five and Synthesis Twenty-six lost their lives that day, despite being way more competent and experienced than him. It was really just a stroke of bad luck, as the thing's impossibly massive body had 'whipped' around as they were trying to take off, crushing them and their dragons as if they were rotten fruits.

Renri could still remember himself screaming as his dragon managed to take flight, the beast clearly terrified out of its mind as he held on its back for dear life, unable to even try to order it to fly properly.

That was when an insect-like 'head' that was over 15 Mels wide and had 4 glowing eyes covered his vision, jet-black carapace and mandibles engulfed his vision. The incompetent knight knew he was going to die, feeling the absolute certainty of that terrifying fact consuming him as he let go of his dragon, watching the poor beast be eaten like a snack.

Something had **crumbled** on the back of his mind at that moment, even as he fell towards certain doom. Once again, the hopeless knight had screamed, as he felt his body burning.

And then, he was shooting into the heavens, jet-black wings on his back and a roaring feeling of power consuming his entire being, his clawed hands reaching out and throwing his knives towards the titanic monster's face with a defiant roar.

For the first time, they had answered him, and, with the power befitting the instrument of legend they were supposed to be, had torn deeply into the abomination's 'human' face like a white star.

Then, he had shot raw power after them, engulfing its entire head in the process.

Renri Synthesis Twenty-seven hadn't stopped to continue fighting, despite the roaring instinct within his soul demanding so. Neither to check and see if he could recover his dead companions' remains.

No, he had simply recalled his Twin Edged Wings and flown away, hearing the unmistakable sound of agony-filled and angered roars echoing behind him…followed by that of flesh bubbling.

There was no shame in running from a battle you knew you couldn't win, after all.

When he got back, his armor cracked, his appearance forever altered, and his mind a complete mess…he had felt happy, against all odds.

Even when the other Integrity Knights restrained him. Even when they took him to the dungeons and kept him there under heavy surveillance and being interrogated for over a week. None of it stopped the nigh-insane happiness consuming him, enough to drown the alien feeling of wanting to destroy and hurt that his soul now seemed to sing.

For he had become STRONG. Maybe it was a horrible curse, a forbidden power, something intended by the Gods as a punishment for his cowardice…but he did not mind.

His hideous appearance meant nothing in exchange for the power he now had, more than enough to fulfill the purpose he had never been able to. That of being a true Integrity Knight. A true protector of the Human World.

Someone everybody could be proud of.

And even as he was finally released, having been granted the approval of Synthesis One and the Highest Minister herself. Even as his now ever-singing knives were returned to him and a magnificent new armor, gleaming like the Sky and fitting his new body like a glove. Even as he stood beside the Blessed knights like an equal. Even as he was named the protector of the capital's heavens…he knew.

Renri knew that no one would ever threaten the Human World in his presence and survive. It was his duty, after all, and he finally had the power to carry it out.

That's why he wouldn't forgive these fugitives. These abominations that, unlike him, had let their Curses corrupt them and threatened all innocents within the world.

An enemy of the Axiom Church was an enemy of the Human World. Someone that existed only to disturb the peace and put all its inhabitants in danger. And, as the protectors that had been summoned from the Celestial World by the Highest Minister, had the duty to protect everyone.

Such was the truth all Integrity Knights knew.

And that's what he would prove that day, to those that dared to defy the natural…

"Ah. Finally." spoke the flying knight as he saw his loyal Twin Edged Wings start flying in an unnatural pattern, the knives pointing in a specific direction of the forest he was flying over. "I have found you, criminals. The Subterranean you have killed…will now receive the Justice they deserve."

Without wasting another second, Renri raised his hands and recalled his knives, his armored fingers easily catching the empty space in the middle of the blades and closing around them. As one, his four crow-like wings flapped violently, sending him forward.

It was time to show the enemies of the Human World that Order always prevailed.

* * *

"…and that's how I learned it was not a good idea to try and actually do 100 sit-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 squats, and run 10 K…Kilolu, as they say here, every single day." finished Kirito with a sage-like tone and a raised finger.

The looks he was receiving, however, showed he hadn't seemed like that at all for his 'audience'. At least, that's what Eugeo and Tiese's blank looks told him clearly, while Ronye and Selka's awed/worried ones just made him feel very self-conscious.

"…why in the Gods names would you think doing such insane training was a good idea?" deadpanned the undead boy with clear bewilderment.

"…my favorite hero ever and, uh, personal life experiences made it seem cool?" offered the black-haired one with a shrug.

"Tha-that's no excuse to be so reckless, Kirito!" protested Selka with clear worry. "I mean, it was brave on your part, wanting to get stronger to protect your loved ones, but pushing yourself so much…it probably worried them a lot!"

"Yeah, and I bet your little sister almost had a heart attack when she found you passed out at your home's entrance!" added Ronye while waving her hands in agreement.

"Yes, she did, and everyone called me an idiot for more than a week after that." acknowledged the gamer with a nostalgic smile, his gaze turning towards the sky. "I certainly learned my lesson, that's for sure…and I _did_ become a bit stronger, so that helped a lot."

"…are you sure you're really from another world and not just someone that hurt himself in the head one too many times?" asked Tiese with an amused smile, before squeaking and blushing while covering her mouth. "So-sorry! I didn't mean to…!"

"Nah, don't worry, Tiese-san. I have wondered the same more than once." Eugeo waved off while patting the red-haired vampire on the shoulder, making her embarrassed blush intensify. "My partner here may be a total weirdo, but he's an honest person, and had pulled off enough strange things for us to believe him."

"A-and…do you really think there is a way for you to go back in Centoria?" questioned the blue-eyed fugitive with clear doubt.

"I'm almost sure of it. But even if it wasn't, I still need to go and help Eugeo and Selka save Alice." declared Kirito with a carefree smile, shocking the two newcomers of the strange group. "But first, we have to get you two to that refuge in Eastabarieth."

All in all, the black-haired boy felt things had gone pretty well. Sure, it had made him seem like a bit of a fool, telling stories about his not-so-greatest moments back in the real world, but it had helped break the slightly awkward and tense atmosphere that surrounded them.

Which was no surprise, really, given what both girls had probably gone through ever since they…'changed', so to speak. And that without adding whatever the Axiom Church had done to them before they escaped.

Sure, they had not shared the details of it all with them, nor did the gamer expect them to do so anytime soon (If ever), but it had been more than enough for him to get quite an ugly picture. Eugeo too, if his face had been anything to go by.

That's why he wanted to try and make them feel comfortable, at least. He may have no psychological training embedded into his mind like Yui and Strea did (Even if the latter rarely ever showed it), but he knew he was pretty damn good getting other people to relax just by being himself. Something that, sadly, he found harder and harder the more he stayed in that world, where danger seemed to be at every corner and everyone 'powerful' seemed out to get him and his new friends…

"…how can you say that with such carefreeness?" asked Tiese out of the blue after the small silence, making Kirito blink and look her way with a raised eyebrow. "You could very well be trapped here forever, you have family waiting back for you in your home…yet you're willing to face the ones that rule the world for the sake of people you have just met? Why?"

"Because that's what a Hero does." answered the boy from another world without missing a beat, making the redhead freeze and the blue-eyed girl to look at him in shock. "And for good or bad, that's what I am at my core…what I have been for a long time, I guess. Kirito is a Hero that helps others, after all."

Indeed. That was his truth, the undeniable reality he had once denied endlessly, then simply tried to ignore as he was happy with his friends.

But the more he fought, the more the world threw madness his way, the more he stood up for those he loved against the threats that appeared in their lives…the more he realized it.

Kirigaya Kazuto existed to be a 'Hero', whatever that meant. Like Kayaba had said that day while Aincrad collapsed, there was no escaping of that Fate for him now.

Wherever that would lead him, he didn't know. The only certainty he had, though, was that, as long as he could fight for it, as long as he could raise his fists…he would continue doing so, for the sake of those he loved. For seeing them happy…and, if he was lucky, to build a happy future for himself too.

Yes…that's right. When he went back, he really needed to start taking a lot of things more seriously, didn't he?

"That's Kirito for you, I guess." smiled Selka with resignation while giving a reassuring look to their new companions. "If there is one thing you can know for sure, is that you can rely on him. Because he's a true Hero!"

"A…hero?" mumbled Ronye while eyeing the caped boy's back.

When was the last time that she had been childish enough to believe in that word, she wondered? And…

In an instant, Kirito's back tensed; the boy's whole body on edge as his instincts screamed danger at him.

At the back of the group, Tiese's eyes widened, her pointy ears twitching for an instant before her head snapped upwards.

Eugeo was already jumping towards her, though, eyes wide and his face morphing into a mask of angered shock.

"GET DOWN!"

Without hesitation, the gamer moved with all the speed he could muster, letting his perception of the world slow around him as he all but bowed over Ronye and Selka, making them scream as they all fell to the ground in a disorganized heap.

It saved their lives, though, as the whistling forms of something cut through the air where they had been standing, easily bisecting several trees on their deadly path before they curved around and ascended impossibly, as if they were alive.

Wide-eyed, Kirito watched as the throwing knives returned to the hands of their wielder, feeling himself paling and filling with disbelief at the sight.

"No…no fucking way. That guy had, what, less 2 minutes of screentime? 8 pages in the manga?"

Seemingly ignoring his (In his eyes) nonsensical words, Renri Synthesis Twenty-seven looked down on the mostly frightened group, his bird-like helmet reflecting nothing but cold contempt as his four crow-like wings kept him in the air.

"Criminals, your days of freely roaming the Human World have ended. So declares Renri Synthesis Twenty-Seven."

If he didn't know it would just uselessly waste their time, the gamer would have cursed.

Of course one of those super-knights with the powers of the fucking Sky King, of all things, would show up out of nowhere as soon as they had been trying to keep these poor girls safe.

And something told him no conveniently overpowered alien abomination was going to show up and one-shot it for them. Because, of course, nothing could be easy when he had no 'powers' at his disposal and actual lives were in danger.

"Integrity Knight…" growled Eugeo with an uncharacteristic mix of hate and rage, making Kirito's gaze shoot towards him in time to see the axe on his back shaking as he reached for it. "What do you want?"

"Do you even need to ask?" rhetorically questioned Renri while landing atop a tree, the sharp gaze hidden by his helmet never leaving the group as they shakily stood up. "Now, you have two options. Surrender and your deaths will be quick and painless. Resist and…well, you won't like what happens next."

"Always with the threats…why can't the guys with the sinister superpowers ever offer their enemies to simply talk things over?" dryly commented the black-haired boy with a tired tone, making everyone look at him…only for his eyes to snap up confidently as he reached for Ronye's arm and pointed it on the knight's direction. "We got you!"

A second of tense shock ensued.

Then, it extended into three.

By the time five seconds had passed and nothing happened, both Renri and Kirito were blinking in clear confusion, the gamer awkwardly turning his head towards the bewildered and blushing girl whose arm he was holding.

"U-uhm…Kirito-san…?"

"…you didn't blast him to pieces." stated the black-haired boy with clear surprise.

"A-ah! Sho-should I have?!" asked the surprised Curse-bearer with clear panic.

The gamer couldn't even open his mouth to answer her before a towering form landed before them at terrifying speed. Looking up in shock, Kirito finally fully realized how tall and broad their enemy was, his wings easily shadowing them completely, an idle reminder that the one under the armor probably didn't look human at all anymore.

"Enough nonsense. Now, be gone!"

"You won't touch Ronye!" snarled Tiese while all but catapulting herself from the group, leaping towards their winged attacker with the speed of a cheetah, probably with enough strength to rip off one of his wings easily…

" _Enhance Armament._ "

…and it never happened, because, the moment those two unknown words in Sacred Tongue (Or easily identifiable English for Kirito) echoed into the air, twin knives all but shot from Renri's armored fingers, the weapons spinning through the air like two birds of prey and cutting into the vampire's arm when she was barely a Mel from their master, sending her flying back through the air with a sickening sound and pinning her to a nearby tree.

By reflex, the caped boy threw Ronye behind him and punched forward with all his might. His reward was his fist crashing against the Integrity Knight's armored chest and doing absolutely nothing, even as he felt pain run up his entire arm.

"GAH!"

"I came here expecting a challenge, an actual fight to prove why I was named Protector of the Capital, why Evil will never trump in this world…yet you're nothing but foolish children." continued the winged man while easily catching Kirito's arm and _squeezing_ , his clawed gauntlets piercing into the flesh and making blood start flowing. "Why the Esteemed Highest Minister never simply sent one of us to end you is beyond my…"

As one, Renri's wings brutally flapped behind him, even as he let go of the pained boy and threw himself backward.

His upper right wing slammed against Eugeo, the boy's weapons barely cutting some of the black feathers as he was sent through the air. At the same time, the orbs of raw destruction Ronye had shot passed harmlessly over him, crashing against nearby trees and annihilating them.

Cursing everything to hell, Kirito forced himself to not fall to his knees as he fell the blue-eyed girl rush to his side, clear panic and terror in her face as she helped him stand and babbled worried things about how much his arm was bleeding.

They would both have died at that moment as the Integrity Knight finally righted himself, if an angry white axe hadn't flown through the air and clipped his lower left wing at that very moment, making an almost animal growl of pain explode from within.

"Kirito, get them out of here!" roared Eugeo as he carelessly jumped off a half-broken tree, fully destroying it in the process, and stabbed forward with his blade, shocking his enemy when the blue sword cut through his armor as if it was made of paper. "I will hold him while you run!"

As if to punctuate his words, a scared but determined Selka finished yanking out the last of the knives that had been pinning Tiese by her arms, the weapon falling down while the vampire growled and stood with a shaky look as she saw the undead boy and the winged knight separating, the latter easily taking to the sky again.

"N-no…I can help you f…!"

"If you try and fight him, he will kill you." bluntly declared the dual wielder while his axe flew back to his empty hand with a pull of his Will. "You have power, but next to no skill with it or real fighting experience at all. One of them isn't going to just die at your hands like those Subterranean. I, however…"

Reacting faster than the normal eye could follow, Eugeo spun around and used his axe to deflect Renri's left claw, uncaringly letting the other pierce through the right side of his chest. The knight's shock when he calmly used the Blue Rose Sword to all but destroy that arm's armor was probably priceless, but the helmet prevented anyone from actually seeing it.

"Argh! Damn monster…!"

"…can hold my own long enough. And I can't die." finished the undead one while kicking the winged man away from him. "NOW GO!"

Shocked into silence, the redhead could only nod as Selka dragged her by the arm, rushing towards Kirito's side as he all but swept the still clearly panicking Ronye off her feet and, after giving a curt nod to Eugeo, ran towards the trees, quickly vanishing from view.

Mentally cursing as he left his partner behind, the black-haired boy could only grimace as he tuned out the squeaks of the girl in his arms, the pain in his right one and the sound of trees cracking behind him.

He had fucked up, big time. Once again, he had momentarily forgotten how 'real' this world was and, more importantly, the nature of those around him. The stunt he pulled earlier with Ronye had left him handicapped before the battle could truly begin because he had forgotten the young girl wasn't an anime character despite wielding the powers of a lunatic hobo that thought 'God' had given him nigh-divine abilities to eradicate mankind. Nor was she one of his friends that had followed him through many adventures and fights, and as such knew how to react to most things he tried.

She was just a heavily traumatized and scared 14-year-old girl that had gone through things no one should have to. And forgetting such a thing against an enemy that was at least close to top-tier Demon in the Disaster Level scale would have gotten them killed if Eugeo hadn't reacted in time.

Even as those thoughts finished running through his mind, he grew angry with himself. He was supposed to be protecting these people, not getting into danger like that. After all, he was the only one there that wouldn't really 'die' (Eugeo's exception aside) even if they killed the body there, all possible terrible consequences be damned.

Dearly missing his 'power' aside, the gamer really needed to stop screwing up like that. Really, what had he been expecting with that stunt? To catch the enemy off-guard and easily one-shot him? They weren't pre-scripted characters; these were actual people he was facing here, no matter how monstrous or powerful, and the world didn't work with the logic of a…

The logic of…One Punch-Man…

"Ki-Kirito, I-I need to stop!" panted Selka while doing her best to keep running despite her declaration. "I need to…recover my breath…!"

"I can carry you if you need." grimaced Tiese while looking at the angry marks the knives had left in her body, no longer bleeding and just looking like nasty scars that would soon vanish from her ghostly skin. "I'm not tired at all and…"

"No, there is no need." interrupted Kirito while stopping all of a sudden, then helping the shocked Ronye to her feet as he turned towards the other two girls. "Rest for a moment and then keep going in this direction. I'm going to go back and help Eugeo, then we will regro…"

"No!" all but screamed the girl he had been carrying, shaking like a leaf as she gripped his arm like a lifeline. "Yo-you can't…you can't fight against him! He's too strong…yo-you will…you will…"

Die. He would die. She didn't want that. She didn't want to see someone else die almost as much as she didn't want to kill more people. She didn't want to…!

"It's okay." calmly answered the caped boy as he nonchalantly used his injured hand to wipe away one of the tears she didn't realize had started flowing down her cheeks, giving him an apologetic smile. "I won't die, and I will be back with Eugeo before any of you realizes. After all, I'm a hero, remember?"

And for an instant, as he said those words, Ronye Arabel didn't see the injured boy with the old cape and the bandages around his hands before her.

Instead, the cursed girl saw a mighty figure clad in black and white, his pristine cape of the latter color flapping at a nonexistent wind like a symbol of power…

"…please, be careful, Kirito. Also, make sure Eugeo doesn't hurt himself too much."

Startled out of her 'fantasy', the girl in the dirty clothes and ragged cape looked towards Selka, not having noticed when the younger girl had come closer, and watching in amazement as her glowing hands closed the wounds in Kirito's arm. Most shocking for her, though, was the resigned but confident smile in the apprentice's face.

The look of someone that knew they couldn't stop the caped boy, but that fully believed he would fulfill his promise despite the worry it caused them.

"I will, Selka. Please, take care of them."

"What?" asked Tiese with clear bewilderment, obviously thinking the gamer was joking with that declaration. Ronye, however, could see in his face he was completely serious.

Despite being younger than them and apparently possessing no power, unlike their destructive Curses, Kirito fully believed _she_ could protect _them_.

Was that the difference in their trust…or just that he had seen something they lacked in the tea-haired girl at some point?

"I shall. Good luck." simply answered Selka as her healing finished and the boy nodded, running back from where they came from. "…okay then. Let's do this."

With just a hint of hesitation, the young girl tore her eyes away from the disappearing form of the visitor from another world, taking out what she carried in the small traveling bag at her side.

Ronye and Tiese's eyes were immediately drawn towards the crystal ball, even as the apprentice took a deep breath and looked towards the vampire

"What is…?"

"Tiese-san, you said you could carry me, right?" upon receiving an affirmative nod from the confused redhead, Selka walked towards her. "Then start doing so without leaving Ronye-san behind and follow all my instructions from now on, okay? I will get us where we need to go. Just…ignore anything that seems weird with me and keep going."

Not giving the other girls any room to argue, the Seer **stared** into the depths of her crystal ball, willing the power she had been gifted with to let her see into what no one should see once again.

No matter what happened, she would fulfill her role, living up to the trust Kirito had put in her. All she could do was hope he and Eugeo could do the same.

Unknown to any of the three girls, eight small golden eyes stared at them while the vampire picked the youngest one up, the minuscule creature slowly descending towards them…

* * *

Something within him was singing. Something within him was growling.

Determination. Anger.

Drive. Fury.

Purpose. Rage.

Eugeo of Rulid felt both strings of feelings roaring within him in a harmonic dissonance like never before, his arms all but blurring as he swung blade and axe in seemingly wild patterns.

The brutal clanging sound of steel and bone against the unnatural material those accursed knives were made of was his reward, teeth gritted as he barely kept both weapons at bay, despite how they kept trying to tear into him as if they were birds of prey.

Idly, the undead boy could still remember the first time he returned to the cave, seemingly a lifetime ago, dragging the growling axe through the ground as he arrived where he and Alice and… ** _no one else_** …had left the sword. How he had cried himself unconscious there, the melodious hum he could now hear from the bluish blade calming him down.

Before he was forced to grow up. To get used to his inability to die. To fight for his life constantly.

Only two constants remained from back then. And they were the weapons he now wielded, followed by the feelings they caused in him, and that he was sure had influenced his mentality as he grew within that icy cave, slaughtering anything that tried to cross and attack the village he had been born in.

The blade just wished to help and comfort him. The axe hungered for revenge.

And now, the latter was being almost overwhelming, breaking the small balance he usually kept them in because of the enemy before them.

Worst part was, Eugeo was sure he should have been able to win. Under normal circumstances, and without wanting to sound full of himself, the undead boy knew this fight should have turned in his favor.

He could shrug off lethal wounds, which was clearly not the case with his enemy. The man could fly, but his axe seemed like a seeking arrow when he threw it after him, hungry for hurting the Integrity Knight. And he was forced to swipe down to harm him in close quarters, something the dual wielder knew he greatly surpassed his enemy in. The difference in strength, be it because of Authority or the difference between their Curse/Blessing, was clearly in his favor.

Of course, that's when Renri had called those damned knives of his back, repeated that accursed 'spell' from before and then sent them against the surprised Eugeo

Barely, the boy could keep up with the stupidly fast weapons, despite how they acted like some unholy living beasts, trying to hurt him…but not with them _and_ their owner at the same time.

"Fall already, abomination!"

 ** _RIP!_**

"Look…who is talking…" growled the dual wielder as he fell back, missing a chunk of his left cheek as the flying knives cut deeply into his arms and then kept flying around him, looking for a new opening.

"I do not know what kind of blasphemous Curse allows you to keep standing despite all those wounds, but soon it will not matter." declared Renri as Eugeo managed to force his Twin-Edged Wings back again, only for him to recall them to his hands with seemingly no effort. "You will end up being cut to pieces sooner or later. You're just delaying the inevitable."

"Fun fact…it's not the first time I have thought about that last line." commented the undead boy with narrowed eyes, feeling his regeneration slowly working its magic and knitting his flesh back together. "I'm curious, though…how are you doing that fancy trick with the knives? Is it a special use of that Incarnation-thing? Because I had never seen anything like that…"

"…how pitiful. And here I thought that having those two beautiful weapons and having a decent enough degree of skill with them would mean you were worth something, but you're just another hopeless criminal in the end." sighed the Integrity Knight with clear disappointment. "To possess even a Divine Object and be unable to connect with its soul…you remind me of the failure I used to be."

"What…what the hell are you talking about?" asked the dual wielder with a hint of worry in his voice, suddenly feeling unusually on edge, like his combat instincts were shouting at him about danger like never before.

"Let me show you, as the last thing you will ever see in this world, criminal…" declared Renri with a powerful voice before once again letting the knives fly, Eugeo quickly getting ready for another counterattack…"Behold; the true power of a blade's soul! _RELEASE RECOLLECTION!_ "

Both words in Sacred Tongue pierced through the undead boy's very soul, echoing with an Authority that Ordered the World to Change.

Almost as if they had always been ready to do so, both knives that formed the Twin Edged Wings flew as one another, 'crashing'.

And then a terrible screech, like that of a bird of prey soaring into the havens, united into a single cross knife for an instant before they spun at a speed out of this world.

Nothing but a burning 'cross' of blinding white light, almost like a majestic bird with its wings open, registered in Eugeo's mind as they phenomenon flew towards him. By instinct, he raised the Blue Rose Sword, trying to parry the blow.

All the bones in his left arm broke under the strain and the blade flew from his grasp, as if he had tried to stop a stampeding bull, before the fused Twin Edged Wings roared towards his abdomen and, with a sickening sound, cut through him in a single instant.

Impassive, the winged Integrity Knight watched as the boy's upper body flew through the air in one direction, his hips and legs in another. Using their full power, his priced knives had bisected him without effort.

The Twin Edged Wings were said to have once been a pair of birds who had, respectively, lost their left and right wings. Unable to fly with a single wing, they joined together and soared higher than any other bird could go and flew on for close to an eternity. Then, the Axiom's Church Highest Minister had found them and turned them into the twin knives that would end up being entrusted to Renri Synthesis Twenty-seven.

And so, whenever he fully released their 'Memories', both knives would 'fly together' once again, their speed, range, and power increasing more than three times.

"…huh." was all that escaped Eugeo's mouth as blood flooded it, his torso rolling through the ground with his arms being unable to do much to stop it.

The unsettling feeling of his entrails spilling into the grass barely registering as eh stopped against one of the few trees that were still standing.

"Do you see it now, criminal? The moment you tried to go against me…you were destined to fail." sentenced the winged man while he landed not far from the undead boy, whose eyes moved towards him. "Look at you…at this point, ending this would be a mercy. How you have continued living with such a terribly wretched existence is beyond m…"

"…once again, it's funny. If I had fought you a few months ago…I probably wouldn't have minded falling against you, Renri Synthesis Twenty-seven." interrupted the pitiful-looking 'zombie' with an almost resigned smile as he closed his eyes. "But now…I have found a reason to truly live again. I can't allow myself to die until I have saved her…"

"What are you saying?" asked the Integrity Knight with clear confusion, more than a bit unsettled by how nonchalant his fallen opponent seemed to be at basically missing half his body and being completely at his mercy.

"Also, my name isn't criminal. Its 'Eugeo'." continued him before his green eyes snapped open, seeming almost like reptilian slips for a moment. "And you shouldn't go around showing your tricks to your enemies."

"Wha…?!"

" _ENHANCE ARMAMENT!_ " screamed Eugeo as he raised the Dragon Bone Axe in the knight's direction.

Like an ethereal roar, a wave of Hate seemed to crash against Renri, even as the axe 'bloomed' in a twisted way, the head splintering as _fangs_ grew from it, the shaft lengthening and growing ribs as they dug into their wielder's entire arm to find purchase.

Then, two particularly long ones grew around his body, piercing through his flesh and into the ground with demonic speed, throwing the now madly grinning torso towards the winged knight.

The sound of metal and flesh being pierced filled the forest as the Integrity Knight threw himself aside, his helmet falling apart even as he clutched his arm and flew upwards again, glaring in disbelief at the undead one, standing in impossible 'legs' made of the ribs growing from the axe in his arm.

"How in the Goddesses' names?!"

"Once upon a time, there was a dragon that protected a sword. He never caused problems for anyone…yet, one day, an Integrity Knight came and killed him for no reason at all." declared Eugeo even as his weapon's 'fangs' shot forward, his arm straining as it once again clashed with the descending 'white bird' in which the Twin Edged Wings had become. "So, against the likes of you…this guy just won't be defeated."

Punctuating his master's words, the Dragon Bone Axe roared once again, digging deeper into his flesh to keep him standing against the spinning cross knife, more fangs emerging from the head to keep the Released Divine Object at bay.

"…impressive. Truly…this is truly impressive!" for the first time, Renri seemed to hold something akin to pride as he lowered his injured arm and stared at the undead one.

It also let the zombie see how the 'armored gauntlets' weren't just weaponized armor, the man actually had claws in his hands. Also, his skin was an angry red, and the lack of helmet not only let him see how young the winged knight looked, but also that his hair was, probably for the same reason as his skin was such an unnatural color, completely white.

The most defining and inhuman feature he had, however, was his long and sharp-looking nose, which let Eugeo know that the helmet also wasn't shaped like a bird's head to intimidate: It literally had to have that shape for Renri's appendage to not be crushed under it.

"…well, that's certainly disturbing, alright." chuckled Eugeo as he, finally, started pushing back the Twin Edged Wings.

"I don't mind your words…Eugeo, was it? Because, criminal or not, you have truly shown…to be a challenge. A worthy opponent…to prove I'm worthy of being an Integrity Knight! I don't fear showing my monstrous face to you!" roared the winged knight with a sharp grin. "And as such…I also don't fear using my full power against you!"

And as he said those words…energy started gathering before Renri's mouth, coalescing into a powerful-looking sphere, which made the zombie's eyes widen.

"…you're kidding me." mumbled the undead boy with despair as he saw the _energy beam_ , of all things,forming.

"You fought bravely, Eugeo! Be proud that I will remember you as a warrior instead of a crimi…!"

"Yeah, sorry to disappoint you, but no one is ever proud when they're told that. They will die anyway, you know? What's there to be proud of?"

The uncaring and nonchalant tone in which those words were said threw both warriors for a loop, the winged knight's dramatic 'Finisher Attack' vanishing as they turned to look towards their source.

For a moment, Eugeo could have sworn he heard the strangest and most exaggeratedly dramatic 'music' somehow echoing in the background as Kirito emerged from the trees, staring at the Integrity Knight with a completely blank and, seemingly, bored face.

"…what?"

"You heard me, Big Nose. No one is ever going to feel proud of something like that, no matter how much mang…stories, that is, make it seem." continued the caped boy while calmly walking closer, ignoring Eugeo's outraged look (Still in that bizarre 'stalemate' against the knight's 'living' weapon). "So you really should stop trying to sound so high and mighty."

"…you dare to say such things against someone that could end up killing you with no effort, criminal?" growled Renri while staring down at the impassive gamer, as if he saw nothing but a stain that should not exist in this world. "They say there is a fine line between bravery and foolishness, but I think I can clearly see in which side you stand."

"Maybe. Or maybe I just don't like your higher-than-thou attitude. Kinda like how I don't like your face." shrugged the caped boy while ignoring Eugeo's open-mouthed look at his declaration, even as the winged knight started shaking in the air. "And that's why I came to end this. Because, stupidly powerful Mysterious Being or not, I will be damned if I let you kill my friend."

After all, the Sky King's energy blasts, while not even close to the strongest within OPM's setting, were still more than enough to shake the entirety of the Hero Association's original HQ, which had been reinforced by Metal Knight's technology.

Kirito was pretty sure that there wouldn't be enough left of the undead boy to regenerate, no matter how bizarre Zombieman's regeneration was. He was no Boros, after all.

"What…did you just say?" the sudden change in the Integrity Knight's tone drew the otherworldly Hero's attention, though he never dropped the 'Saitama face' he had fully adapted even as he raised an eyebrow towards his flying enemy. "How…how do you know those words?! Only Administrator-sama has ever called the Cursed ones that!"

'Administrator', the literal English word for someone in charge of something…or a Game Master. And this person not only was above the Integrity Knights but also used a term exclusive of One Punch-Man's setting, something no one in this world should know.

Jackpot.

"…wouldn't you like to know?"

"YOU WILL ANSWER NOW, CRIMINAL!" roared Renri as he dove towards the caped boy like a meteor of death, his face twisted into an angry snarl as his sharp claws shot straight for the gamer's chest.

"KIRITO!" screamed Eugeo while trying to put more power into his mutated axe, slowly pushing back the Released form of the Twin Edged Wings, but not fast enough to…!

"That's my name." replied Kirito while rearing back his fist, the world and even the descending form of the Integrity Knight about to kill him slowing down to a crawl.

This world was filled with real people, no matter what definition the ones who created it wanted to give them. The Fluctlights were as alive as he was. They weren't 'fictional characters' either, no matter how bizarre some were twisted or changed when they got the 'powers' from One Punch-Man's characters.

But they all had 'roles', one way or another. And, for some reason, those specific roles, be it the ones they had accepted or the ones that had been forced upon them, had a 'weight' in this world.

It was a crazy world, after all. One where, somehow, enough Will and Imagination could let you do things that shouldn't be possible, like something straight out of a cliché shonen series.

Adding literal shonen superpowers to it hadn't helped. In fact, it had done the exact opposite, detaching those 'Blessed' or 'Cursed' even more from 'reality', letting them do such things easily.

Eugeo recalling his weapons to his hand easily. Ugachi standing up to finish him off when he should have been dead already. Renri Synthesis Twenty-seven having such absurd control of his weapons…it was all connected.

All that you needed to do was possess enough 'belief'. If you thought 'I can do it' with enough determination to fool not only yourself, but the very World around you, then it immediately became 'possible' if you had enough 'spirit' to enforce it.

Completely nonsensical and cliché…but true.

And while there was no way it could come as easily to him…that's just because he was still seeing himself as 'Kazuto' right now, even if he had continued using the name of 'Kirito'. Being unable to easily use his Saitama-like abilities, feeling pain, everything being so real…it made his subconscious think this was still the real world.

It wasn't. It may not make it any less real, especially not for its inhabitants…but this wasn't Reality.

Equinox's words during their last battle echoed in his mind for a moment before he easily dismissed them. Right in that moment, he needed the power to protect Eugeo and the others. To return to his family.

 **Will**.

And so, with a deep breath, he discarded the notion of 'Kazuto', that of the boy that went to school with his bizarre friends and was stuck into a crazy but very happy relationship with almost every girl he was close with.

 _For a moment, the image of a spiky black-haired man in a tracksuit running at his side was seen._

Right now…he was Kirito. He was the One Punch-Gamer. He who could blast any and every enemy to oblivion with one punch, for the sake of everything he believed in.

 _The image was replaced by that of a bald man in a yellow jumpsuit, with a white cape, red gloves and boots, walking forward…_

 **Imagination.**

Taking a deep breath, Kirito looked straight ahead, at the Sky King…no, at the one possessing that power, Renri Synthesis Twenty-seven. Suddenly, the Integrity Knight…didn't seem threatening at all.

Cocked back, his arm was being covered by tight black fabric, his closed fist covered by a white glove, hints of muscles he shouldn't have covering it…

 **Overwrite.**

With the screech of a scared bird, the Twin Edged Wings shot away from their stalemate with Eugeo, back to their master's side, making the shocked zombie fall forward.

"Normal Punch."

The exact moment Kirito _punched_ forward…the flying and shining cross knife got between him and Renri with a terrifying screech, interrupting his concentration in an attempt to protect their master. The jumpsuit and glove covering his arm vanished.

But the air pressure the half-thrown punch didn't. Without mercy, it crashed against the Released Divine Object, throwing it back and slamming past its owner's left side, cracking his armor and _annihilating_ both of his left wings. With a soul-shattering scream, the winged knight was sent flying through the forest, spinning through the air like a cheap top in a whirlwind of blood and feathers, his once again separated knives flying in different directions and vanishing from view.

And Kirito also went flying back, the reverse pressure of his attack making him slam back-first on a tree as he lacked the usual overall strength to shrug it off. His breath and a bit of blood escaped his mouth.

Several seconds of silence passed before the only fighter that remained 'standing' snapped out of his shock.

"Partner!" shouted Eugeo as he forced his mutant weapon to push him forward, cursing everything under the sky when he felt whatever power he had been using being depleted and the bones receding back into the axe, making him fall face-first a couple Mels away from his friend. "Dammit! Kuh, hang in there Kirito, I will drag myself to your side in no ti…!"

"Please…don't do that." wheezed the black-haired boy while standing up, taking deep breaths as he sent a bloody smile towards the surprised undead. "It's hard enough not to throw up when I see you like that as it is…"

"Gods beyond, don't scare me like that!" sighed the dual wielder while, with a bit of effort, calling back the Blue Rose Sword to his free hand, awkwardly using both weapons to half-raise his half-body. "Quick, let's go and finish off that bastard before he can reco…!"

"No, we're getting out of here." stopped him the gamer with a serious tone, shocking Eugeo as he walked to his side with visible effort. "We need to catch up with Selka and the others…"

"What?! Are you crazy?! We have that guy crippled and probably unconscious, we can end this now!" shouted the undead boy with sharp eyes, once again seeming like those of a reptile for an instant. "Why wouldn't we…?!"

"Eugeo, you're literally half the man you usually are right now and I'm pretty sure a couple of my ribs are broken! And we don't have Selka to help heal us here!" snapped Kirito with a forceful tone, shocking the dual wielder into silence as he half-grabbed his torso with a pained grunt. "And I'm going to have to carry you all the way back to the girls as it is; which is terribly uncomfortable already by the way. So please, don't try and convince me to test our luck against the guy that can still shoot energy beams from his beak…mouth, whatever."

"I…I…sorry, partner, you're right." relented Eugeo with an ashamed look, which only deepened when the caped boy managed to have him hanging from his back, quickly putting the Dragon Bone Axe on his own to hold himself more easily. "I don't…I don't know what came over me."

"If I had to guess, it had to do with that neat if freaky trick you pulled off with your axe, but you can tell me the details later." grunted the gamer as he started heading deeper into the forest, eager to leave the impromptu battlefield behind. "It will help to not think about how what I'm pretty sure is your stomach is covering my cape in blood."

"Ye-yeah, sorry about that…also, uhm, you're leaving my legs behind."

"I can't carry both parts of you. Regenerate them yourself, please."

"…ah, I can't even retort to that given what you're already doing for me. Just let me recall my blade's sheath with Incarnation…there. Now we can go and I don't risk stabbing you by mistake."

"Good…not stabbing is good. Heavens, how are you this heavy with just half of you? I'm going to need…"

Kirito froze at that moment, his words forgotten as an unnaturally familiar _chill_ ran down his back. Ever so slowly, he looked up, Eugeo following cue after having sensed his friend's distress.

The sky…was turning red. As if it was bleeding…

But no, the caped boy knew what it actually was. An unholy number of 'Windows' appearing on the air, filling it all and dying the world in crimson. Suddenly, he was back in Aincrad's Starting City, all those years ago, when everything began.

"What in the Goddesses' name is that?!" screamed the green-eyed boy on his back with clear panic, having never seen such a thing before.

All around the Human Empire, people reacted in a similar way, panic setting before Subterranean reassured the confused people that there was nothing to fear.

When a mechanical voice started speaking in English, Kirigaya Kazuto was the only person under the sky filled with 'System Announcement' screens that was expecting it.

 _[System Announcement! Emergency State declared: Ensuing Mass Recall. All Integrity Knights must report back to Central Cathedral…]_

In the four corners of the Human Empire, armored figures tensed and looked up.

Somewhere in a forest, a figure in red armor with two strange 'rods' in his hands and a crimson bow in his back looked up, eyes narrowing.

Standing before a destroyed-looking fortress, an armored Knight let a roguish smile appear on his face, caressing the whip at his side before calling for his dragon.

 _[Repeat, this is a direct order from the System Administrator. All Integrity Knights,…]_

Leaving Terubi, the armored form of Dakira Synthesis Twenty-two cursed, ordering the Subterranean surrounding her to rush ahead.

Unconscious and bleeding, Renri Synthesis Twenty-seven twitched against the tree he was embedded in, the cracked forms of his twin knives doing the same.

In an underground area, two small figures looked up at the ceiling, the one with the labcoat having a worried look, the one with the prison ball and chain on her leg seeming excited.

 _[…return to Central Cathedral]_

Near a massive gate on the easternmost edge of the Human World, three figures looked up in worry. One had a toad-like 'head' atop their helmet, another two old-looking guns, and the last a cartoonish-looking mace. Not far from them, a more imposing form in purple armor slowly turned, making a weirdly 'mechanical' sound as they did so, a single 'light' shining for a moment on the depths of their helmet.

 _[All standing orders are considered secondary as of this moment. All Integrators must return]_

On the depths of the earth, an inhuman figure with three long 'eyes' slowly stood up. On their four arms, swords shone, three of them burning magma-like edges, and one of them being ridiculously thin and black, but somehow way deadlier-feeling one…

Out in the Dark Territory, an imposingly tall figure lowered his sword, as if carefully measuring the words while he lowered his sword. Ignoring the corpses of countless 'monsters' surrounding him, the scarred man turned around, heading towards the silent form of his dragon, even as the ever-present sound of a 'drum' seemed to surround him.

 _[Announcement finished]_

Near a lake, a dragon had stopped drinking to look up at the phenomenon. Near it, a figure clad completely in golden armor stood up from where they leaned against a beautiful olive tree. Serious determination in their eyes hidden by a regal-looking helmet, the golden knight flapped their blue cape and walked forward…

Back in the destroyed forest, Eugeo and Kirito stared silently as the sky returned to normal.

"…that's not good." declared the undead boy, despite the fact he had only understood a few key words.

"No, it's not. Actually, is probably God-level Bad for us." agreed the gamer before, swallowing the pain, starting to run forward, tightening his grip on his friend's body as he ignored his surprised shout. "Let's get to that damn wall asap."

While all of this took place, in the Grand Library that was Nowhere and Somewhere at the same time, the librarian calling herself Cardinal frowned, knowing things were about to take a turn for the worse.

And in a dark room near the top of Central Cathedral, the unnatural 'thing' that had been embedded into a wall slowly 'powered down' after finishing the System Announcement, returning to its basic routines as it stared at the world with empty, mismatched eyes, somehow seeming duller than those of all the human heads of the 'Elders' in the walls.

All the while, it continued wishing for it all to end…

* * *

Within a seemingly ruinous building, many scared and 'abnormal' figures exchanged worried looks, many muttering and whispering worriedly about what 'the voice in the sky' had said (Those that had understood it, at least).

Amongst all of them…a particular one stood up, the six-eyed and six-legged creature at her side following cue instantly, silencing everyone in that room.

"So…you're going out?" asked the gruff voice of a young man…that had an honest to God Gatling gun where his left arm should be.

"We're just going to check whatever that was out. Be back in no time." nonchalantly answered the girl as she walked forward, everyone letting her pass with looks of awe as her 'horse' followed.

"It could be dangerous. We have no idea what THAT was about."

For an answer…the mount's eyes shone as the girl nonchalantly passed a hand over her hips.

A bizarre-looking _belt_ appeared on them.

"And you forget we're very dangerous ourselves."

With that declaration, 'The Rider' of Eastabarieth set out…

* * *

 **…**

 **…STARTING…**

 **EMERGENCY LOG!**

 **Warning! Integrity Knight 'Renri Synthesis Twenty-seven' has been critically injured! Ordering Synthesis Twenty-two to retrieve him immediately!**

 _-Fluctlight #86745: 'Renri Synthesis Twenty-Seven'_

 _-Divine Curse: SKY KING (Level Demon). Body mutations increase muscle mass and grant heightened senses. The true power comes from the two sets of wings and claws/talons the wielder is granted, allowing for terrifying mobility and direct power. Also, the main weapon of this Curse, a discharge of explosive energy from the mouth, is strong enough to level medium-sized structures in one shot. Secondary mutations have caused red skin, sharp teeth and an elongated olfactory organ in Synthesis 27._

 _Threat Level to the Underworld_ _: None/Minor (Under the Synthesis Ritual, but slightly chaotic)_

 _-Status: Synthesis 27 was the second Integrity Knight ever in possessing a 'Divine Curse'. Thanks to the purposefully chaotic nature programmed in these, his Fluctlight was warped to have an inclination for chaos and destruction, but, in a surprising stroke of luck and probably caused by the incident that made him awaken his Curse, the change actually ending up turning him from a 'failure' into a much deadlier and competent Integrity Knight, if noticeably more rebellious than before._

 **The fact that Synthesis Twenty-seven was defeated without managing to capture or incapacitate even a single of the Criminals he went after against his standing orders is not worrying, but catastrophic. The Anomaly group has actively shown the ability to directly fight an Integrity Knight. And given 22 still lives, it means he didn't confront the fugitives known as Target A and Target B, but one of the 3 ones of the original Anomaly group.**

 **…response given by Administrator upon report. System Announcement imminent. Emergency State declared. All Integrity Knights must return to Central Cathedral to deal with this development.**

 **STARTING SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT…**

 **…**

 **…**

…l…e…t…m…e…d…i…e…

* * *

 _Next…_

 **A race against time…**

 _Selka: That's…that's the Immortal Wall…_

 _Tiese:…why are they taking so long? We should…_

 _Ronye: Wa-wait, that sound…Subterranean!_

 **…and the time for change comes…**

 _Kirito: We will…get there…_

 _Eugeo: Partner…we're not alone. They're following us._

 _Kirito:…I know. Keep your guts together, Eugeo…_

 _Eugeo:…if you don't drop me, they will catch us both._

 _Kirito: Then I guess we will have to see how well you fight with half of you because I'm not leaving you…!_

 **For the past, even if forgotten…**

 _Tired, bloody, but still standing, the caped boy stood among the bodies of several Subterranean, the remaining ones looking at him with fear as he raised his fist._

 _Kirito: S-so…who is next?_

 _In answer…an armored figure walked forward._

 **…always catches up to you.**

 _Kirito:…who…who are you…?_

 _With unfeeling eyes, the Golden Knight looked at the panting Kirito, raising an armored arm…_

 **Next time on 'One Punch Gamer: Chains of Fate':**

 **Chapter 6: Forced Separation**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Well, that happened OxO!

Also, before anyone mentions it, yes, again, I know making jokes about Eugeo being cut in half is probably horrible of me, but it was just too good another 'Multiversal Irony' to pass up.

More of a transition chapter than anything else, including lots of hints and foreshadowing, but we also got another 'serious' battle here. Gotta say, after jumping around my different stories with this new Update schedule of mine, I actually had a more entertaining time writing the mix of Alicization-style battles (Which anyone who read the arc knows are composed of 40% Skill, 20% Intelligence and 40% your ability to pull off Incarnation to save your ass) and OPM-Style battles (Which are based on how much your powers suck/are awesome, how relevant you are to the plot and how likely is Saitama to show up on the scene XP).

Kirito has started figuring out how things 'actually' work in this OPM-warped Underworld, but it's a double-edged sword. Unlike Canon, everyone around seeing and/or having superpowers here allows for an easier time believing the Impossible is actually Possible for the people there, especially those with the actual powers (Hope you liked the visualization/comparison between Saitama pre-training and post-training scene :3). Or in simpler terms, their Suspension of Disbelief is way harder to break than it should be, which gives an easier time for Incarnation! Will he figure out how to fully use it now that he has the key? Or is he truly unable to fully see himself as 'Kiritama' when everything is so real? Only time will tell…

But he better hurry, as shit just got very real. Next time, a 'reencounter' that nobody truly wanted…enjoy today's Omake before that, though!

* * *

 **Omake: Capes and Roses 5**

Blake Belladonna knew she wasn't a good person, no matter what her present teammates may think.

Sure, she liked to think she wasn't a 'bad' one either, but the Faunus-in-disguise wasn't foolish enough to consider herself an 'innocent'. If anything, the number of mistakes she had made just seemed to grow the more she lived.

Running away from home to actively join the White Fang despite their warnings about how Adam was taking things too far. Remaining blind to the escalating violence, telling herself they were just rightfully retaliating. Finally accepting that the man she had fallen for had lost his way in the worst way possible. 'Dumping' him in one of the flashiest way possible involving a train heist that all but guaranteed he would be quite 'pissed off' with her (But it couldn't be too bad, right?)…

And, maybe, having come to Beacon too. After all, she had stupidly exposed herself to her teammates and kinda-friends after letting an argument with Weiss get too out of hand.

A part of her was still fixed on blaming it all on the Schnee heiress and her view on Faunus, but a part of the black-haired girl knew that wasn't true. Certainly, Weiss wasn't the nicest of people, but, in all the time she had known her, Blake had never seen her showing the supposed bias of her family towards any Faunus within Beacon. If anything, she seemed clearly relieved back when their leader's strange friend had helped out Velvet…

But Blake Belladonna was a stubborn person, something people back in Menagerie would say she had inherited from her father. She refused to accept the White Fang, as bad as they had gotten, would go so low as to start robbing Dust like common thieves. Someone _had_ to be framing them, taking advantage of the bias against Faunus!

Such were the thoughts that guided her way of thinking right now and why she wouldn't allow herself to return until proving Weiss was wrong. Also why she had ended sitting in that small café across from the blonde monkey boy called Sun, but she could have done without that last one (Seriously, why wouldn't the guy shut up? Didn't he get she wanted some peace and quiet?!).

However, what the clearly troubled teenage ex-terrorist wasn't expecting…was for _him_ , of all people, to find her.

"Blake. Your friends are worried." calmly commented Kirito from where he stood behind Sun, making the Faunus scream and fall off his chair. "Talk to them."

"You…how did you find me?" asked Blake with narrowed eyes.

"Forget that! How did you sneak behind me without me noticing?!" demanded the shocked blond while standing up, pointing towards the caped hero for emphasis as he stood up. "I didn't even hear you!"

"To both questions: I'm very resourceful." sighed the Heroic Spirit before sitting on an empty chair, looking at the black-haired girl with an unusually tired expression. "Ruby told me what happened…well, Yang and Weiss also 'chimed in', but it was surprisingly her who told me that less shouted version."

"Then you know what I am." answered the Faunus with a small frown.

"Yes, an idiot that has made her 3 closest friends worried sick for the entire night and most of the day." swiftly replied Kirito without care, making the other two blink in surprise. "Now seriously, grab your Scroll and call them. If I have to sit through another round of puppy-eyed Ruby begging me to help find you, I swear I will just drag you back to them."

"Uhm…" tried to speak Sun, only to be summarily interrupted as a furious Blake stood up.

"You wouldn't dare! Also, you know very well what I meant! I am…!"

"A Faunus? Big deal, I have known that since back in the Emerald Forest, your bow's subtle twitches aren't as subtle to those who know where to look and you aren't the first, or even remotely the best, cat girl trying to pretend being a human I have met." shot her down the caped Hero without mercy, even as the black-haired girl squeaked and covered her bow with her hands. "As for being a member of the White Fang? If you're here now then you clearly left for a reason, and even Weiss isn't really angry at you for that anymore, no matter what she claims. She just needs an explanation and an apology…all of them do, really."

Also, Kirito himself probably would have no problem even if she had actually still been a terrorist in a way. After all, he had once been the secret ace in the hole of what was technically a Terrorist Group, though they were more like a Resistance, really. And once he had part of a group of assassins without mercy for their twisted targets, so…

"…I can't…not yet. Not until I prove that the White Fang isn't behind the Dust robberies." replied Blake with what tried to sound like a firm tone, but was clearly shaken by what the Heroic Spirit had told her.

"…and if you're wrong? If they are?"

"…then I will also accept my mistake." sentenced the Cat Faunus with a grimace.

"…okay then, wait here." declared Kirito while standing up with a resigned look, surprising the girl. "They're all here in Vale searching for you, so I'm going to go tell them you're fine and that you're planning to return. I will bring you whatever answer they have…but please, consider calling them."

With those words said, the caped Hero blurred out of existence, both Faunus barely able to follow the black and white blur vanish around the opposite street's corner.

"…so, despite what that super-fast and sneaky guy told us, and given what I just heard…do you really want to find whoever has been stealing all that Dust?" asked Sun with a small grin, causing Blake's head to snap his way in surprise. "Because I may know where they're probably going to strike next…"

Ignoring the ominous feeling he felt for a moment, and after only 10 minutes of running around and hoping through rooftops, Kirito finally found one of the girls he had been looking for. Concretely, the one he was sure was close to the center of whatever events Remnant had summoned him to prevent, Ruby Rose, standing with a resigned look next to…an oddly smiling orange-haired girl?

"…no, Penny, I don't…Kirito!" happily shouted the Huntress-in-training when her first friend landed before her, making her latest 'friend' to turn around in curiosity. "Please, tell me you had better luck!"

"As a matter of fact, yes, I found Blake…but, who is your new friend, Ruby?" asked the Heroic Spirit while looking towards the girl with the massive pink bow and the bright green eyes, ignoring Ruby's attempts and gestures for him to stop.

"Salutations! I'm Penny Polendina, Ruby's newest friend!" smiled the now identified Penny with so much enthusiasm and excitement it would have seemed creepy for anyone normal. "Who are you, Mister Kirito?"

"He is m-my first friend, Penny, I met him the day before getting into Beacon…" commented the silver-eyed girl while making gestures Kirito thought seemed suspiciously to tell him to run and save himself.

"Gasp! Your first friend?! That sounds positively sensational!" cheered Penny before turning towards the Heroic Spirit and offering her hand with a massive grin. "Can we be friends too, Kirito?"

"Sure." accepted Kirito while inwardly chuckling at Ruby's regret-filled face as he clasped the orange-haired girl's deceptively strong hand.

He probably shouldn't judge her, though. After all, he was very aware it was very likely _he_ was the weird one for being able to take Penny's attitude in stride.

Then again, she had nothing on Strea when it came to enthusiasm…and that was _before_ they started getting intimate.

"Fabulous! I have gained two friends today!" happily celebrated the strange girl before trapping Ruby and Kirito in a hug…or well, more like leaving herself hanging from the hero's neck while the awkward reaper hung from her own warmth. "I look forward to emotionally bonding with you two!"

"Tha-that aside…Kirito, did you say you found Blake?!"

It took just a bit over 5 minutes to give Ruby a summary of his encounter with Blake and what she had said. After that, a much more relieved-looking (If a bit pissed) young girl had thanked him and quickly called her sister and partner.

A few minutes of arguing/shouting later, he had quite the choice of words (Most of which he was sure would be 'funny' to repeat in Blake's face) from all three other members of Team RWBY for their missing teammate. So he had bid goodbye to Ruby and Penny (Before the former apparently realized she was being left alone with the overenthusiastic girl again) and blurred back to the open café where he had told both Faunus to wait for him…

Only to find they were nowhere to be seen.

"…dammit Blake."

And he had thought that the whole deal with Cardin bullying Jaune showed they were learning to not be so impulsive…

Later that night…Blake Belladonna would also curse herself as she found herself trying to keep Gambol Shroud's edge pressed against Roman Torchwick's throat while two Bullheads started descending on the docks, to the criminal's apparent delight.

Okay, so, Weiss and Kirito had been right. And now she was surrounded by her very armed former 'brothers and sisters' of the White Fang, completely outgu…oh, and now Torchwick almost killed her by blowing up some of the Dust accumulated at their feet.

Perfect.

Getting her head back in the game, the cat Faunus forced herself to keep up, Sun's help being greatly appreciated against the White Fangs goons (And she couldn't believe she had just thought that), but didn't seem to make much of a difference against the criminal of the bowler hat…

And then a flying dust container almost crushed the suddenly squeaking man, who dove out of the way before the metallic crate knocked out most of the remaining members of the White Fang and smashed open at the edge of the docks, spilling all of its precious and volatile contents.

One second later, an annoyed-looking Kirito blurred into existence at its side

"Ki-Kirito!" shouted Blake with shock and a clear hint of embarrassment.

"Uh oh…busted?" weakly laughed Sun while trying to hide his shock at the demonstration of strength.

"Seriously, Blake? I tell you to just wait for 15 minutes and you can't resist running off to face a dangerous criminal completely outnumbered and outgunned?" asked the caped Hero with a very complex face, which for some reason reminded the cat girl of the one his father would sometimes make when she was little and did something dangerous. "I swear, you're the same as Eugeo was in his worst moments. He never stopped to think…"

A gunshot echoed for an instant before it was drowned by a terrifying explosion, both non-criminal Faunus being blasted off their feet.

Coughing, eyes wide with shock and ignoring the pain of having crashed against a crate, Blake Belladonna scrambled to her feet, her feline gaze shooting towards where the container had been.

Nothing but a noticeably missing chunk of the docks and burning marks remained, the water still churning where some pieces of hot metal had fallen. On the opposite side, a wide-eyed Roman Torchwick lowered Melodic Cudgel, the criminal having clearly not realized in time what would happen when he aimed at the boy's face.

"O-oh…Gods…" mumbled Sun with horror and shock while staring at where Kirito had been, ignoring how the remaining White Fang goons pointed at him and Blake with their weapons. "He…he…"

"Tch…that damn brat didn't know where he was sticking his nose!" snarled the clearly pissed off man while adjusting his bowler hat, an annoyed look in his face. "See, Kitty Cat? That's what happens when you kids get in the middle of adult's business!"

"N-no…no…" whispered a shaken Blake while feeling sick, the image of a heartbroken Ruby shooting through her mind as the full weight of how she had indirectly led someone to their death hit her. "You bastard…! DAMN YOU!"

Snarling with animal fury and feeling tears in the corner of her eyes, the terrorist-turned-Huntress jumped straight for Torchwick, disregarding any tactics or how she was a perfect target in midair, wanting nothing more than to HURT the man that had killed her friend's friend…

 **DEATH**

Everyone standing in the docks froze, feeling as if their very souls were being squeezed. Even Blake stumbled mid-jump and crashed down, but no one took advantage of it, too busy trying to decipher where that feeling of utter dread was coming from.

 _Something_ exploded from the water, landing in the middle of the docks with a crash that splintered the concrete around it for several meters.

 **DEATH**

There was a very big contradiction with Faunus many were aware of but preferred to ignore. That is, how much they hated being compared with animals when their animal traits and instincts were among their species' greatest weapons and advantages compared with mankind.

For example…animals usually knew ahead of time when a natural disaster was coming, being the first to evacuate the area without any warning. As if they could feel the tragedy arriving in their very beings.

And at that moment, as they stared at the figure rising, from the small crater, every single Faunus was certain they were going to die and that there was nothing they could do about it. Their very fight or flight instincts seemed to have surrendered into 'accepting their end' as the white cape flapped from the abomination's back.

Even Roman Torchwick, lacking any kind of Faunus instinct, felt nothing but dread and absolute doom staring at the bottomless voids in which the eyes of the 'kid' had become, his face turned into a carpet of darkness blacker than a starless night, his body suddenly filled with imposing muscles he didn't have a moment before…

 **DEATH**

Blake belladonna stared, wanting nothing more than to run but being unable to move even a muscle. Her whole body was being consumed by a terror like she had never felt in her whole life, feeling like an ant in the presence of a titan, the _thing_ that had been pretending to be human until then slowly raising his arm.

She felt it, in that instant. How whatever that thing calling itself 'Kirito' was could bring about all of their deaths with just a swing of that fist of his, and that there was no force in Remnant that could stop it…

And then he simply raised his _leg_ and slammed it down with the power of God's hammer.

Ruby Rose and Penny Polendina arrived at the dogs in time to see them 'blow up' in pieces, debris cracking and exploding in all directions as bodies fell into the water and, the less fortunate ones, crashed against nearby structures.

And among it all, the leader of Team RWBY heard her missing teammate screaming in terror.

She looked down to the alley beside where she stood in time to see a caped figure letting her and an unknown blonde on the ground.

 **"Are you okay…?"** asked a voice that seemed to not belong in this world.

"Aaaaaaaaghh!" screamed the Monkey Faunus once he seemed to recover his voice, running away and jumping to the rooftops as fast as he could, not even looking back.

Slowly, Kirito turned towards Blake, who was crawling back in horror as she tried to not hyperventilate.

 **"Bl** a…?"

"Stay back! Don't come any closer!" all but sobbed the black-haired girl while covering her face, shaking while raw terror consumed her. "Go away…don't hurt me…please…"

"…I won't." softly spoke the 'boy' with a perfectly normal voice once again, making Blake's eyes widen as she looked back to see an apologetic-looking face in an unimpressive-looking costume. "Sorry for scaring you…I shouldn't have done that."

"Wai…!"

The black-haired girl was unable to finish her words, as Kirito blurred out of existence the next instant, leaving nothing but the sounds of the chaotic night behind and sirens in the distance.

Ruby was still staring down with confused worry, trying to understand what she had just seen.

She never noticed Penny's eyes shining as she stared at the destroyed docks, streams of data being sent from her vision to somewhere else.

And deep within the endless forests that surrounded the city of Vale, the 'Nothing' that had bled into this world during the Summoning _stirred_.

Within the night, the unfeeling creatures of Grimm in the area suddenly felt a dark uneasiness…

* * *

 **Author's Notes 2:** You shouldn't have poked the dragon with your literal cane, Roman. Even if your cane is also a gun and the aforementioned being makes even the dragon gods seem puny…

And with this, we officially start having Canon RWBY be heavily altered by Kirito's presence. _Everyone_ felt that small stunt, both those in Remnant with ears everywhere as well as…other things.

Blake and Sun's reactions aren't any attempt to make them look bad or a bias, I actually like their characters quite a lot: I based it off how the human characters in the original Fate Stay/Night Visual Novel (Namely Shirou and Rin) were described to react to Servants, to something so above them that even top Magus would have trouble facing some of the weakest ones. And Servants aren't even remotely the most terrifying thing you can find in that Universe. When you add my point about animal instinct letting them know such things betters and Kirito's True Nature…I like to think their reaction before he 'calmed down' was more than justified.

Thing is, though, unlike most things that don't care about such things, Kirito actually does, because trying to remain as 'human' as possible is the only thing keeping him sane through the same Curse that forces him to not only keep being summoned but also remember every single time.

Next time, a Hero ponders how much his presence may actually help instead of making things worse while Team RWBY has a long chat…

 _ **Editor's Notes:** Pika here! Just droppin in to say that I am officially back! Another amazing chapter here! Oh, I wonder what will happen next?! That said, this chapter was fun to edit, as there were very few issues _to _begin with. Can't wait for the next chapter! Until then everybody!_ Ja ne _!_


	9. Chapter 6: Forced Separation

Well, hi there again, everyone! Sorry about this chapter being a bit delayed, the damn heat we're having here combined with the 'serious intensity' of this chapter slowed me down a bit, which shouldn't really have been the case with how short it is compared to previous ones. Damn weather…

That aside, we're at the end of another of the mini-parts that divide the massive 'arc' that is Chains of Fate. Are you already for more intense madness? Get ready, for in this world where the difference between Monsters and Heroes are so blurred, anything can happen.

BTW, thanks to the reviewer that informed me about the upcoming Alicization anime, but I obviously knew about it already, since the very first day it was confirmed (As I'm part of the SAO Subreddit :3). All I can say is that I'm really looking forward to October OwO!

As always, feel free to help filling this story's TvTropes page! All your help is what has made it such an amazing place :3!

With that said, I leave you all with today's chapter. Enjoy!

 **PS:** Chapter Betaed by Pikatwins. Thanks pal!

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Forced Separation**

 _Fear was something she was used to feeling. After all, since she was a little girl, she had feared many things._

 _From the dark, like any other child._

 _From disappointing her parents, like some noble children._

 _From the burden of being a noble, that one day her fate would be taken from her just for that…_

 _Tiese Shtolienen had, indeed, been always intimately close with fear, even if she always hid it by smiling and acting like a proper lady._

 _However…nothing could have prepared her for what True Fear was like._

 _Nothing could have prepared her for the horror of that day, having come home after enjoying a nice day playing in the fields (She so rarely could do that those days, only when her family visited their small rural house outside Centoria, slightly into Southacroith territory)…to find the wall broken, the THING waiting for her._

 _Her screams had alerted her parents, but she was already in the creature's grasp by then. It looked vaguely humanoid, with a large horn as a forehead. Eyes all over his body, malformed teeth, misaligned jaws and no apparent nose or ears had completed the set of what looked like some abomination the Gods had forsaken._

 _Knowledge of 'Cursed Ones' had already spread back then, but, despite the Subterranean protecting the capital since before she was even born, her family, like most, was of those that didn't fully believe the creatures could exist in the Human World. Not with the Integrity Knights (some now even Blessed by the Goddesses) protecting it._

 _In that moment, however, as she was held in the deformed hands of the uni-horned creature, she didn't feel safe at all. She didn't feel the protection of the Integrity Knights or of the Goddesses, in which every follower of the Axiom Church believed in._

 _She only felt fear. The same fear she had felt her entire life, amplified by a thousand times._

 _And as she heard her mother scream, her father shout and uselessly try to hit the creature, who seemed to be casually studying her and slowly crush her body as if curious, Tiese knew terror like few others could at 11 years of age._

 _The little girl had barely been aware of the feeling when something_ **Crumbled** _on the back of her mind. At that moment, all that suddenly filled her mind, drowning the fear and the pain was a single thought._

FEED.

 _With an animal scream, Tiese had broken free, the shocked monster that had been holding her barely being able to reflect surprise before she latched into his neck (Or what passed for it in its monstrous body) and bit down._

 _Things were foggy after that. She remembered an inhuman scream, the vague feeling of the monster thrashing around and that of her body being slammed against easily breaking walls and the quickly cracking floor. The little girl had not cared for that at all, however, as the only thing in her mind was to continue drinking that delicious-tasting nectar her abnormally sharp teeth had been letting her drain from the abomination._

 _When she had come to her senses again, the monster was no longer moving and she felt…better than ever. Freer, better, stronger…!_

 _But…why were her parents looking so horrified? Why were they backing away and shouting when she looked at them?_

 _…why as her skin so white? Why were her nails so sharp all of a sudden? Why…why was she covered in blood?_

 _Even as those questions started eating at her suddenly shaking mind…the roars of dragons had filled the air before several armored figures had all but marched into the house, weapons at the ready._

 _The four on the back were already bizarre enough, but it was the knight in the purplish armor who had unsettled the shaking Tiese the most. Somehow, instincts she didn't know she had screamed at her about the empty stare of the quintet's apparent leader. How she should kill them first before they killed her._

 _Then, one seemed like a single, unfeeling 'light' had been seen within the helmet's visor, the sword on the knight's hip being raised faster than she thought possible, aimed straight at her._

 _Her mother may have screamed again, but, in all honesty, the red-haired girl wasn't sure…_

 _"Enhance Armament."_

 _…because her world had been consumed by the burning light of Solus and she had blacked out, pain devouring her._

 _When she came to, she had been in a cell, on that strange facility where dispassionate voices and strangely silent guards kept her prisoner, backed up with many Subterranean._

 _Tiese sometimes felt she spent more time in there than she did before, even though objectively she knew it wasn't true. Having her Curse's powers tested, coming to be revolted by her new nature, hating how comforting the strange outfit and cape she had been given made her feel, sinking in loneliness and despair as the years passed…_

 _And then, one day, a scream filled with so much sorrow it shook even her heavy heart had pierced the facility, before a massive 'beam' of something she could only refer to as 'raw destruction' blew through the walls._

 _Chaos had ensued in seconds, many cells and holding areas having been opened in an instant, the countless prisoners seeking to escape or, simply, to lash out against their long-time captors._

 _But she…for some reason, she had headed down the holes where the beam had come from, coming face to face with its source._

 _A crying girl practically her same age had been what she found, looking dirty, tired and like someone who had just given up on life, releasing all that they could in one final burst._

 _They had stared at each other for a silent minute and, wordlessly, something had just…clicked within them._

 _An odd and unexplainable feeling, a connection that made no sense, almost as if…as if they had been Destined to meet, as if they knew each other from another life or something…_

 _Minutes later, they were running through the darkened forests, she carrying the exhausted but terribly powerful Ronye on her back while they left the chaos-consumed facility behind, swearing that she wouldn't let anything happen to her until her bitter end._

 _It would be the final 'human' act she would ever commit to, after all._

 _For now, as much fear as had once consumed her, she was just another source of Terror for the world._

 _A true monster…_

* * *

 **4th Month of the Human Empire Calendar, 379. Norlangarth, Eastern Border. Evening…**

"…we're here."

Snapping out of her memories, Tiese blinked and looked down at the tired-looking girl in her arms, slowly coming to a halt as a panting Ronye stopped behind them.

Effectively, they had finally exited the seemingly endless forest and, towering larger than any outer village within the Human Empire, the Immortal Wall separating Eastabarieth from Norlangarth rose imposingly, some 20 Mels from where they stood.

Almost numbly, the young Seer stumbled out of the vampire's arms, shaking and taking deep breaths of air as she slowly put her strange crystal ball back within her bag.

The two Cursed girls were simply staring at her in shock as she tried her best to recover her breath, unable to believe it. Somehow, they not only had found the perfect and seemingly fastest path out of the forest towards where they needed to go, they had done so while avoiding all the Subterranean patrols that no doubt had been deployed in the area to catch them, all by following her instructions.

"Selka-chan…your Blessing is amazing." muttered the shorter of the two while walking to Selka's side. "How did you…? Uh? Is something wrong?!"

It took Tiese a moment to understand what her friend meant, but it became quite obvious once she looked closer.

The youngest girl of the trio was not only sweating and looking terribly winded despite not having actually walked a step herself, she was also deadly pale.

"Just…a moment…" groaned Selka while idly making a familiar gesture in the end, her own Stacia Window appearing moments after. "…damn. Never had tried to…look into the Future like that, for so long and for such specific directions. Took more of my…Life than I was…expecting…"

There was a moment in which both Cursed fugitives tried to process the scope of her words, that of somehow possessing a Blessing as grand as being able to glimpse into things that hadn't happened yet, before the rest of what she had said registered.

In a quite out of character burst of determination, Ronye grabbed Selka's side and dragged her to her side, staring straight into her Window despite the protests, gasping in horror at what she saw.

"Ronye…?" asked Tiese with clear uncertainty, only for her inhuman body to go cold at the next words.

"That…you just lost a quarter of your Life! How can you be so calm?!" all but screamed the brown-haired girl while gripping on the youngest one's shoulders. "It's no wonder you look like that; that could have easily killed you if you had miscalculated!"

"I…was certain it wouldn't…but please, don't tell Kirito or Eugeo that I tried something so stupid, they would never let me live it down." dryly chuckled Selka before weakly pointing forward. "Besides, we did it, right? There it is…the Immortal Wall. Can you really…make a hole through it?"

"…yes, she can, though it will take her a few minutes to concentrate enough power to do so fast enough." answered Tiese when it was clear Ronye wasn't going to answer, still baffled at the thought of someone risking themselves like that for 2 strangers, 'monsters' like them on top of that. "…I'm worried that they're taking so long to catch up, though. I mean, sure, we weren't going slow, but it's been a while since we stopped hearing the noise of their fight…"

"Don't worry. Those two are too stubborn to lose, let alone when they have each other's backs." tiredly chuckled the Seer while leaning against a tree. "While we wait, though, we probably should rest…and I should properly tell you about what my Blessing entails or you will keep looking at me like that the whole day."

"We…we would appreciate that, yes." mumbled the brown-haired girl while playing with her ragged and dirty cape, looking away with an embarrassed blush.

"Let's hear that out, then." nodded the redheaded vampire while wondering if she would ever get used to seeing such a young girl, even if she was only 2 years under them, acting so unnervingly mature.

"Well then, I guess I should start from the beginning, then. You see, since I was a little kid, I…"

And as they sat there, listening to the origins of Selka Zuberg, the two Cursed girls felt an oddly and contradicting combination of feelings they hadn't ever felt.

One was that of peace and normality that their minds had almost forgotten.

…the other was the sinister feeling that something ominous loomed over them and the youngest one was only trying to distract them from it.

From within her hair, unseen, a small creature let her 8 gold eyes scan the treeline in worry, her 'mother' hearing everything through her senses.

Every second that passed was, unknown to them, one they came closer to certain doom…

* * *

Deep within the earth, the long and creepily illuminated chamber certainly looked scary enough to terrify even the most adventurous soul. And that was before factoring the countless Subterranean watching from every corner, like guardian beasts waiting to brutally pounce upon any intruder.

Indeed, this place, this temple…no, this pseudo-jail, was a forbidden location. One few knew existed and even less how to access.

Even so…the figure clad in purplish knight armor walking through its dark halls did not reflect fear in the slightest. Every single one of their steps seemed measured, calculated…almost completely inhuman.

Mechanical, if one had to put it in a specific way.

Ignoring the way in which all Subterranean in the area stared at them, the purple knight arrived in the innermost chamber of the pseudo-jail, stopping to silently stare.

More Subterranean were there, forming a loose formation around the figure on the center, something akin to worship and utmost respect in their eyes.

It was to be expected, of course. After all, this was their leader. Their Queen. Their creator and 'mother', in a way. Also the main reason why the Axiom Church had such an ironclad power and capacity to deploy the massive number of underground creatures they could nowadays, which was a blessing within this every-moment-more-chaotic world of theirs.

The first 'Cursed' Integrity Knight, the only one besides Renri Synthesis 27. One that they had come very close to have to exterminate when she first awakened her Curse and went on a rampage, before the strongest of them calmed her down and, after judgement from the Highest Minister, banished her down there, forbidden from seeing the light again and sentenced to provide and resupply the Human Empire with her fast and semi-disposable soldiers.

She didn't seem to mind much, though. Because, besides her unnerving obsession with 'cutting' things, the Integrity Knight once known as 'The Silent' seemed almost empty. And so, this dark silence fitted her and her new form perfectly.

Even so…

"Scheta Synthesis Twelve. I have come for you." emotionlessly declared the purple knight with determination, not reacting at all, when the eyes of all Subterranean fixed on them.

For answer…the one standing in the center silently rose up, easily towering over the already inhumanly tall Subterranean, slightly over 3 Mels tall.

It had a humanoid appearance, covered with black armor-like pieces, burning lava running in the space between them. Three, sharp eyes and four arms, all with only three fingers, completed the creature's looks, and the body had just enough of an impression to make one notice it was a female…or more like it that it had been a human woman at some distant point.

For each one of her arms, she carried a burning magma blade…except in her upper right one, where she had an unusually thin and long sword that seemed more like a frail needle than a weapon.

The knight in purple knew the blade's look shouldn't be underestimated, though. After all, they had seen a few of their comrades' bodies being sliced by it as if they were made of wet paper in the past. After all, the Black Lily Sword was a Divine Object, like the blade they carried on their hips, and probably the 'sharpest' instrument within the Human World…perhaps even including the Dark Territory too.

"Fanatio Synthesis Two." acknowledged the Subterranean Queen with a voice that sounded unusually quiet and soft for such a menacing-looking creature. "I heard the summon, but…I didn't think it would apply to me too."

"Things have changed in a way we don't understand yet, Synthesis Twelve. After all, the Mass Recall had never been used before…but the point is, the Highest Minister herself has demanded everyone's presence." declared Fanatio with an even tone, before looking away slowly. "Even yours."

"…Her Eminence did, huh?" muttered Scheta with a faraway look, the creature's gaze moving towards the ceiling of her pseudo-prison.

"Is that a problem?" questioned the purple knight with a challenging tone, her hand subtly moving towards the blade at her hip, ignoring how all the Subterranean tensed around her.

"…none at all. After all…you have also seen it, right, Fanatio? Her true power?" mused the Subterranean Queen with an almost wistful tone, gesturing towards the closest of her 'children' to bring something for her. "She's truly something I could never, even in my wildest dreams, Cut…for she's truly someone wielding the power of a [God]."

Almost imperceptibly, Fanatio shuddered at the way in which the last word was uttered. As if the purple knight could feel how there was something more to it than a simple pronunciation.

An actual declaration of a power beyond mortal understanding…

Interrupting their troubled thoughts, several Subterranean rushed back carrying 'something' with them. Without hesitation, Scheta reached for it and, in one fluid motion, draped it over her inhuman body, attaching it to her back's armored carapace without trouble.

In that dark and hidden place, the cape marking her as an Integrity Knight hung almost sadly, but still somehow gave the creature a much more 'human' feel. Which, in a way, only made her more terrifying.

"…are you ready?"

"I am. Lead the way, sister-in-arms."

For a second, every single Subterranean within the chamber froze, feeling as if they were all about to be destroyed utterly and completely, the short burst of Killing Intent coming from the purple knight feeling like a crushing physical force.

Scheta Synthesis Twelve didn't even blink. With a low growl, Fanatio Synthesis Two turned around, walking away, the Cursed Knight following _her_ after a few seconds.

Slowly, the Fate of the World kept heading towards its inevitable end…

* * *

"…and then…Sugu took the bastard down while he was…busy trying to cover himself from…Sinon's arrows. The expression on his face…heh…was priceless…"

"Hah, okay, yeah, that was another great story, partner. Your family truly sounds like a blast. I wouldn't mind meeting them one day…if I wasn't so sure I would probably go crazy if I had to deal with more people as insane as you."

"This…argh…coming from the guy…who uses severe self-mutilation as part of their…standard fighting strategies…?"

"Oh, bite me, you know very well the only reason I do that is because it works great with my bizarre Blessing. Being unable to die excuses me from being looked at as a madman for what I do, I like to think."

"Fair…ugh…fair enough, Eugeo…"

"…Kirito."

"Ye…yes?"

"Let go of me."

With those words, the one known within the Underworld as Kirito stopped walking, his pale and sweat-covered face twisting in an annoyed look as he turned to look at the boy (Or half of one, actually) he had been carrying for the last hour.

"Like…hell."

"Dammit, just look at you, idiot! You're getting worse by the minute; those cracked ribs of yours clearly punctured something important and both our knowledges of Sacred Arts sucks so much we can't properly patch you up!" all but growled Eugeo while trying to loosen his grip on the black-haired boy's neck, only for him to all but double over in order to keep him up. "Ugh…we both know you need to leave me behind!"

"And I already…told you that's not…happening…!" panted the gamer as he forced his battered and pain-riddled body to continue moving. "We're both going to…make it out of this…!"

They certainly made for quite a curious (Some would even say 'sorry') sight: One looking sick to death and the other being carried on his back, blood covering the ground behind them and also completely drenching the half of Kirito's cape, which he had torn and wrapped around Eugeo's regenerating hips.

It both protected the undead's modesty and also mildly prevented him from covering his friend with even more blood, at least.

"You're smarter than me, Kirito, so if I have noticed I know you have too: They're following us. The blood I'm leaving behind is giving them a direct route to us." grimly declared the green-eyes boy with a heavy scowl, his worry/anger only growing at being ignored again. "If you don't drop me, they will catch us both! You can go on ahead and get Selka and the rest, then come back for me while I keep crawling for…!"

"If you're going to praise my intelligence, don't try to pretend I won't realize they will just catch you without effort if I leave you behind. Long before I even get to Selka." shot back the black-haired boy, doing a clear effort to keep his voice steady. "Unless you can pull…that bone-trick with your sword again…anytime soon?"

"…no, I can't. Doing it ate a good chunk of the Dragon Bone Axe's Life, apparently, so if I use it again just to walk it may not be available when it's truly needed." admitted the undead while looking away. "But…!"

"But nothing, Eugeo. If it comes down to it…guess we will have to see…how good you're fighting as just half of you…" grunted Kirito as he forced himself to keep moving. "Because…I'm not leaving you behind…"

It was his promise, after all, the only one he had made with himself since that fateful day in Utopia, when he had arrived in time to save the day…but not to prevent his loved one's suffering.

He wouldn't let those he cared for suffer again, as long as it was within his power to do so.

And as anyone who knew Kirigaya Kazuto should know…

"For the Goddesses' sake, partner, you're just going to doom…uh? What…are your legs glowing?"

…there were very few things outside his power once he had the determination for them.

 _Will_.

"Hang tight, partner. I'm going to try something."

 _Imagination_.

"Wait…this is like before, when your fist…!"

 ** _Overwrite_**.

"…Gods, this is gonna hurt."

And with that resigned declaration, Kirito shot forward, Eugeo screaming loudly on his back as they became a blur of speed that vanished from sight in an instant, branches and bushes flying away in their wake.

Scant seconds later, half a dozen Subterranean emerged from the earth just where they had been standing, looking at the end of the blood trail in utter confusion, then how it seemed to disperse in a very vague pattern.

Somewhere in the distance, the sound of someone screaming damnation echoed.

* * *

Selka Zuberg knew things were bad the moment the sun started descending into the horizon and there was still no signal of Kirito and Eugeo anywhere close. In fact, she had felt that for slightly over an hour now.

However, there was no way the young seer could have expected the sudden platoon of Subterranean that had appeared out of nowhere, walking along the Immortal Wall back and forth every several minutes, which had forced her and the other 2 shocked girls to hide within the trees, staring at the sight with clear worry.

How had this even happened? It was clear they didn't know they were there, or the humanoid creatures would clearly have started combing the woods for them, which could only mean…

"They're patrolling the entire wall." whispered the tea-haired girl while biting her lips. "This is bad."

"Ca-can they even afford to do that?!" squeaked Ronye, clearly doing her best to not fully freak out, her hand's sparkling dangerously while she tried to keep her power under control. "The Immortal Wa-Walls go from the capital all the way to the Mountain Range!"

That was, of course, a fact that any resident of the Underworld knew. Having been someone that studied diligently to become a Sacred Arts user in Rulid's church, Selka could even tell the two older girls how each wall had an exact length of 750 Kilolu, never mind their width and height. And while she couldn't really tell how many Subterranean the Axiom Church had access to, the number required to cover even one of the titanic barriers dividing the four empires would take way longer to mobilize; even more if they had started only after that sinister 'message in the sky' happened.

She hadn't been able to fully understand what was being said, but her knowledge of the Sacred Tongue had been more than enough to know it spelled trouble for them if whatever Kirito and Eugeo had done prompted someone to do such an outrageous Sacred Art to call back all Integrity Knights to the capital. Which meant…

"This has to be a token force. If it was actually a team that's patrolling the whole wall, we would see way more Subterranean, and in the distance too. They probably are trying their best with a rotational patrol in different sections, thinking we would be held near the wall anyway." firmly declared the young seer, turning to look at her new companions with yet another expression that looked way too serious for someone her age. "Ronye-san, how long do you need to make a hole through the wall?"

"Uhm…I…"

"Around 30 seconds, give or take." answered Tiese for her while putting a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, looking back at Selka with a worried look. "Cutting through it isn't as much the problem as it is making a breach big enough for a person to pass through. She needs to concentrate her power into a beam instead of the usual 'spheres' to do so and that thing is a bit too thin…"

"So-sorry. It's my fault that I can't control these powers better." lamented Ronye while looking down at her dirty hands.

"There is nothing to apologize for, Ronye-san. The mere fact that you can damage that thing at all, let alone open an actual path through it, is beyond amazing!" assured the tea-haired girl with a comforting smile, surprising the older one as she grabbed her shoulders. "Okay, here is the plan: We will wait here hiding as best as we can, maybe even drink something if it takes too long (I can easily create some water through Sacred Arts if needed), until Kirito and Eugeo catch up. Then, we're going to wait for them to move to the next area, blast through that wall and run as fast as we can into Eastabarieth!"

"…ye-yes! Let's do it!" quickly replied the brown-haired girl while closing her fists, the shaky smile on her face making Tiese look surprised before she sighed and looked back at the two with a small smile on her own, putting her pale hands on their shoulders. "Ti-Tiese…?"

"Okay…let's to this." nodded the red-haired vampire, surprising the now even more eager-looking girls. "Still, we should probably retreat a bit more into the forest while we wait for those two to come get he…"

"….toooooooop!"

The sudden scream (More like the end of one) caught everyone, Subterraneans included, off-guard, the trio of criminals not even having time to blink everyone a blur shot past them and into the open area before the Immortal Wall.

Poorly skidding to a halt, whatever had been running tripped and rolled painfully through the ground, ending up face-first on it, with its… _his_ legs up and twitching slightly behind him.

Selka had enough time to gap in disbelief at the black material and smooth white 'boots' before they vanished in motes of light, as if they were never real in the first place, leaving Kirito's normal and worn-out boots and slightly damaged dark pants.

Also, Eugeo was strewn near him, groaning as he tried to sit up … while missing his lower half?!

What the hell happened?!

"…I told you to stop." mumbled the undead while realizing it was kind of hard to sit-up with only slightly more than half of his hips restored, at least from what he could feel under the piece of Kirito's cape covering his modesty.

"Ugh…is this how a Shonen character feels when they get nerfed for no reason?" grumbled the black-haired boy while opening his eyes and rolling around, blinking.

Immediately, he caught sight of the small horde of Subterranean looking at them in shock, from which they were quickly recovering…but he also saw the shocked forms of Selka, Ronye and Tiese, staring at them from the forest's edge.

And so, immediately…he did the thing he was best at. Besides punching things, that is.

Improvising whatever the hell he could on the spot.

"Hey! Those are the crimi…!"

"He-help!" all but screamed Kirito, running towards the Subterraneans, to their friends' utter shock as he all but rolled between the surprising humanoid beasts. "Tha-that scary guy…jumped on my back on the forest and…dragged me he-here somehow! Pro-protect me, ple-please!"

For a moment, shock and confusion ran rampant between everyone present…but, just as the otherworldly gamer had hoped for, his pathetic state and clear injuries made the Subterraneans around him hesitate and face the clearly armed and somehow still-alive-despite-being-split-in-half-Eugeo.

Given their backs to him. Which gave him plenty room to improvise with his recently discovered trick.

"I…okay, Squad 5, get ready to attack the crimi…!" was all that the Subterranean seemingly in charge could say before ALL of them were flung away with violent force with a thunderous 'CLAP!', crashing around either on the ground, the wall or, a few unfortunate ones, all the way to the forest.

Wide-eyed, the not-so-normal (Or exactly) humans looked how Kirito's hands were covered in white gloves and most of his arms in black fabric for an instant before his apparent action (Clapping with unholy force, that is) backfired and his arms were dislocated out of their sockets by the backslash.

However, he didn't even allow himself to scream in pain, tears of agony in his eyes as they shot towards them.

"NOW! RUN!"

As one, Eugeo screamed something, his weapons in hand flashing as his axe 'mutated' and grew bones that let him shot from the ground, tearing into the nearest fallen Subterraneans he could intercept. After just three seconds of shock, the three girls ran out of the forests towards them, a mix of distress and disbelief in their faces.

"So much for our silent and simple plan!" shouted Tiese as she grabbed one of the slowly recovering creatures and bodily threw him against another, sending them both careening through the dirt as their limbs bent in all the wrong angles.

"Ronye-san, the wall!" shouted Selka as she raised her hand, the energy of the ambient gathering with surprising dexterity on it as she changed in fast English. " _System Call! Generate Thermal Element! Search for Biggest Targets! **Discharge!**_ "

Roaring, 5 small spheres of flame shot from the Seer's fingers, burning straight into the faces of as many Subterranean that were trying, and were still able, to stand up.

Ronye nodded and ignored the shouts and screams as the fight ragged on, barely slowing down to give Kirito's battered form a worried look before she skidded to a halt before the Immortal Wall and raised her hands.

Bursting from within her, the power of raw Destruction exploded into her hands, the brown-haired girl grimacing and forcing it to coalesce and gather into a single point instead of simply letting it shoot into short bursts like she usually did.

Just as Tiese had said, it was a beam that shot from her joined hands this time, though more like a stream of destructive power that slammed into the supposedly unbreakable barrier and ate through like it was dirt before a geyser.

In less than a second, the power had cut all the way through, eating into the forests of Eastabarieth's forests on the other side. Then, slowly, Ronye started moving the beam, trying to keep it steady while creating an actual opening big enough for them to pass through. The thought that there was a brutal battle taking place behind her made that a little hard, however.

It was around that point that Selka arrived to Kirito's side, the only one in the group that didn't have any real way of physically enhancing herself not even trying to catch her breath as she let herself fall to her knees at the boy's side, her hands already glowing with a Healing Sacred Art, tears of anger and relief mixing in her eyes.

"Yo-you…you idiot! Look at you; you're in no condition to be pulling any stunts like that!" sobbed the young seer while continuing the process of healing the wincing gamer. "Do you enjoy getting injured or something?!"

"Be-believe me…I hate it way too much. There is not a single masochistic bone in me." chuckled Kirito with dry humor before realizing, upon the girl's confused look, that the M-word probably didn't exist in that world. "Never mind…can you patch up my arms first? Eugeo is missing half his body, he and Tiese are probably going to need help to deal with…"

As the black-haired boy trailed off, Selka allowed herself to follow his gaze, blanching slightly at the sight.

At one side, Eugeo was casually tearing through any and all Subterranean that tried to get close, the bones of his blade spearing like living cancerous growths, while his blade easily cut down any stupid and lucky enough to get too close. Near him, Tiese easily caught, crushed, ripped open or body-slammed any other that the undead boy missed or tried to blindside him.

"…something tells me they're doing just fine." vaguely muttered Selka while idly pushing down the emotions watching such brutality caused.

There would be time for that later, when their lives weren't in mortal danger.

"Yo-you can say that again. Holy shit, those are like a…GAH!" suddenly screamed Kirito when the young seer mercilessly took advantage of his distraction to relocate one of his arms and then start healing the shoulder's articulation. "Tha-that hurt…"

"Think about that the next time you do something like that!" scolded the girl while grabbing his other arm and putting it back in position, wincing at his latest shout of pain. "Ple-please, I'm not joking…I don't want to see you hurt."

"…Selka…" mumbled the black-haired boy at seeing her truly scared and teary expression. "I…I'm sorry, but…"

"They're breaking through the Immortal Wall!"

"Da-damn, didn't think the information was true…"

"Squads 4 and 6 are here! Stop them!"

The sudden series of shouts interrupted the gamer and made his head snap up, Selka also looking in shock as a new group of Subterranean emerged from the forest and another from under the earth north of their position, all of them looking ready for battle.

Even more worrying, though, was when three quickly dug down again and started heading clearly towards the unmoving and concentrated Ronye.

"RONYE!" shouted Tiese with worry before finding herself surrounded, growling as the Subterreneans used sheer numbers to try and pin her down despite how much more powerful than them she was. "Get out of the way!"

"Dammit! Partner, protect her at all costs!" shouted Eugeo as he found himself staring to be overwhelmed too. "If they stop her, we will all die here! _Enhance Armament!_ "

Kirito barely acknowledged how the undead boy slammed his sword into the earth and completely froze the area around him (Trapping most of the creatures surrounding them and making them scream as vines of ice started to creep over their forms), quickly turning and ignoring Selka's shout of still not being completely healed as he shot towards Ronye, stopping at her side just as the first Subterranean emerged.

Without hesitation, he Punched, throwing the creature upwards as its body all but exploded into a gory mess.

All that it had taken was a quick burst, just 'changing' the tip of his knuckles into Saitama's…no, into his One Punch Gamer's ones.

Doing that with just the back of his leg the next second, he all but decapitated the second emerging Mysterious Being.

And Selka took down the last one with a powerful Ice Sacred Art, the cold generated by Eugeo's earlier trick letting her form the ice-spear that impaled its head easily from the surrounding elements.

Half-turning slightly to look at Ronye, Kirito gave the wide-eyed girl a soft nod with what hoped was a confident look before turning his gaze towards their enemies once again, standing proud despite his tattered clothes and his half-torn (Not to mention bloody) cape.

 _"None of them will get to you."_ was what that proud and seemingly unbreakable back said to the Cursed girl, even as a resigned but determined Selka stood at his side and continued healing his ribs.

Feeling something warm igniting within her, the wielder of destruction turned around and screaming, redoubling her efforts and feeling the powers she hated so much answering to her Will. Her 'beam' doubled in size, eradicating the wall in her path like it was glass.

Just a few more seconds now…

"Pursuing Squad Number 2 reporting!" roared a new voice as _yet more_ Subterraneans showed up, much to everyone's shock. "Synthesis 22-sama sent us while she took 27-sama away to recover! You will pay for hurting Renri-sama, bastards!"

"To-too many!" shouted Tiese as the creatures all but dogpiled her, flinging them away as best as she could only for three more to appear for every one she took down, most of their attacks now connecting with her body. "They're…they're overwhelming us!"

"Fu-fuck…my axe won't hold on much longer! I have to deactivate this trick or it will break, but if do it I'm a sitting duck!" added Eugeo in clear desperation as he did his best to keep the Subterraneans at bay, slamming his blade down a second time to repeat his 'draining freeze-wave'. "This is the last of it for my sword too!"

"Do we have ANY good news?!" screamed Kirito as he dodged two more enemies before sending them away with fast-paced hits, barely 'transforming' his hands at all, clearly unwilling to risk injuring himself further as he felt Selka standing worriedly between him and Ronye.

"My hips are back and my legs are finally starting to regenerate! However, we don't have the half an hour they will more or less take for that! Also, I'm going to need better new pants than your half-cape soon!"

"Are you all seriously talking about such stupid things in the middle of this fi…?!" growled one of the Subterreneans as he stopped, letting Tiese grab him by surprise and use him as a 'weapon' against his brethren. "AAGAGHR…!"

"Shut the hell up!" punctuated the vampire as she beat up the creatures trying to surround her with one of their brothers, then letting go of him with crushing force. "Agh…arf…Ronye?!"

"I…am…almost done…!" answered the brown-haired girl while sweat covered her dirty body and the blinding power from her hands started dying out.

Risking a glance towards the breach she was making into the wall…Kirito immediately realized the terrible problem they were all in.

Selka could barely run faster than any girl her age. Eugeo was missing his legs. Ronye and Tiese were clearly exhausted.

They were about to break into Eastabarieth, yes…with a horde of Subterranean, able to move faster than any of them except if he 'transformed' his legs just behind them.

They weren't going to make it. The creatures would catch them in minutes, probably less.

Which was why, the moment the cursed girl fell to her knees with an exhausted scream, shouting they had a path…he took his decision.

"Tiese! Grab Eugeo, we have to go! Selka, help Ronye up, head for the wall!" ordered the gamer with a thunderous voice, surprising everyone for an instant before they all nodded. "Quick! I will give us a distraction!"

Tiese barely seemed to hear him as she somersaulted over the Subterraneans surrounding her, landing beside Eugeo just as he dropped his axe's bizarre transformation, the undead landing in her arms as she catapulted herself forward like a living battering ram. The fact that the green-eyed boy managed to still swing his blade as he tightened his grip on her helped.

Both of them shot past an unmoving Kirito just as Selka started helping Ronye go through the wall, the black-haired boy's eyes closing softly as he felt a pressure resisting him more than ever, like invisible Chains crushing his very soul.

Pushing through them, he felt his arm 'change', nothing but the glove and the part of the black jumpsuit changing outwardly. For the young man, however, the difference between his human body and the godly power now in his arm.

"Kirito, quick, we have to…!"

"GO!" shouted the gamer while rearing back his fist, making them all look at him with disbelief. "I will be just behind you, but I have to make sure they don't follow us!"

"But…!"

"No time!" interrupted the vampire while moving past the wide-eyed seer, taking her best friend's hand and dragging them both upon doing so. "More are coming, I can hear them!"

"Grr, you better keep that promise, partner!" shouted Eugeo from where he hung on the redhead's back, urgings Selka to keep up with them. "We will be waiting for you!"

"Yes…don't worry. This will take no time at all." mumbled Kirito while the Subterraneans tried to charge after his friends as he casually positioned himself before the wall. "…I CAST FIST!"

With that half-forgotten battle cry, the black-haired boy swung his arm forward, unleashing all the power within.

Just as they reached the forest on the Eastabarieth's side of the Immortal Wall, the group of criminals froze for a moment at the tremendous sound and shockwave that shook the entire area, their eyes darting to the wall in time to see a cloud of dirt exploding outwards from the other side.

Then, Eugeo gritted his teeth and shouted for them to keep moving, cursing his lack of legs as they continued running into the forest.

Any moment now, Kirito would use that bizarre trick from before and catch up with them, after all…

Beyond the wall, though…a brutalized area with many trees uprooted and a small crater on the dirt could be seen, even as a lonely figure with a mangled arm tried to stand, blood dripping from his damaged limb.

"…ugh…cough…well…" mumbled the black-haired boy while looking at his arm. "Guess…the backlash was too much…ugh."

As he said those words, he fell to one knee, feeling his feet burning from how he had all but squeezed them against the Immortal Wall so as to not be crushed by the force of his own attack.

That's when a Subterranean shot from the earth before him, hand outstretched to crush his head…and the boy backhanded it down with a quickly flashing fist (From his still working left hand). Shaking, he used the corpse as a crutch to stand, seeing many more emerging from the dirt like moles from hell.

Most had died immediately in his previous attack, yeah…but some had managed to bury down. And _even more_ were coming now.

If this many pursued them beyond the wall…no. They wouldn't.

Eugeo and the rest would get away.

He would make sure of it.

"It's only one! Take him down and go after the rest!"

"Ho-how did he…?!"

"Who cares, he can't even stand now! Go for…!"

The creature was silenced as a fist rammed into his stomach as he tried to tackle the otherworldly gamer, who clenched his teeth as pain shot through his arm while the new corpse joined the first one.

It was starting to 'slip'. The 'image' of himself with all that power, deep within his mind, which the Incarnation of this world was letting him call upon. And this body of his was starting to break down from the strain.

 _"No. Not yet."_

One after another, the Subterraneans came, some screaming, some shouting, others snarling and many just silent, trying to take him down.

With his fist. His elbow. His knees. His feet.

 _"Geeze, sensei. Why do you always try so hard?"_

Punches. Kicks. Backhands. Even a head-butt.

 _"Onii-chan, you're going to be late! Heh, you really are quite lazy in the mornings, eh?"_

Without letting himself fall, Kirito kept taking them down, unable…no, _unwilling_ to let them get past him.

 _"C'mon, Kirito, everyone is waiting. A-also…could you help me train for the next Bullet of Bullets?"_

Because…

 _"Kirito, let's fight! And you will see; this time I'm totally going to win! Me and Excaliber are more than ready! Oh, if I win, can I guess an extra-especial kiss?!"_

Failing the people he had met here…would be like failing THEM too.

"GAH!"

"Gods above! How is he…?!"

"What kind of Blessing does he have?!"

"Squad 10 and 16 are here! This is it, he's going to fall!"

"Da-dammit all…and Selka just…scolded me for hurting myself…" coughed the black-haired boy while looking up, idly aware of how some blood was falling over one of his eyes as he cocked his entire left arm back. "Oh well…I will have to apologize…later."

As one, a very clear yet brutally devastating image was brought from his mind, even as his still functional arm transformed into that of the One Punch-Gamer.

"NOW!"

Dozens of Subterraneans jumped and charged at him at the same time, some even emerging from the earth directly around him, hoping to catch him off-guard….

All of it…useless, as he saw it all in slow motion, uttering 3 single and devastating words.

 _"Consecutive Normal Punches."_

Idly, he was aware of the feeling of his left shoulder basically being pulverized by the action, the bones within turning into little more than shards.

Even so, he was too busy being mesmerized by the familiar yet surprisingly foreign sight of his fist basically blurring in and out of existence, striking every single subterranean surrounding him.

And with every impact, their bodies exploded into gory messes, blood and more disgusting things flying everywhere, something he had never experienced when he himself did the 'technique'.

With supreme force, the gamer griped tightly on his 'Inner Saitama' and pushed down the feelings of horror and revulsion that the sight caused him, the implications of his actions, the fact that, despite having clearly been created 'artificially' and sharing some kind of vaguely hive-mind, these Subterraneans were still Fluctlights, and that he was killing them all…

There would be time to be traumatized for life later. Now, all he had to do was…to keep punching…until…

Blood shot from his mouth as the rain of fists ended, the pain of his now also brutalized left arm hitting him all at once as it was nothing but raw willpower what let him continue standing. Forcing himself to stare forward, Kirito looked towards the devastated area around him, and at the remaining creatures, which were now standing back with a mix of utter horror and hesitation.

The boy from another world couldn't blame them, though. After all, as he was now, standing there atop the mangled corpses of his brethren (Some of which he noticed were starting to 'shatter into light', for some reason) amidst the destruction his fists had crated, he probably made for a terrifying sight. And that without accounting for the fact that they had SEEN him do all of that.

Forcing a bloody smile on his face, the gamer raised his mangled right fist before his face with strength he didn't have.

"S-so…who is next?"

Just like he expected, none of them walked forward. In back, more than one backed away, afraid. Mentally nodding at the sight, Kirito tried to get a feel for how damaged his legs were, trying to calculate if they would hold enough to 'Saitama-run' to his friends before…

A roar split the air, primal and powerful, yet also noble and focused.

The roar of a dragon.

As one, the boy's gaze shot back to the sky, the Subterraneans looking up in shock as an actual dragon landed fiercely between them, the beast looking majestic, slightly bigger than a small car…and with armor and saddle, marking it as someone's ride.

Suddenly, it was as if all sound in the world had died away. Or perhaps it was just his eardrums having been too damaged? Whatever was the case, the gamer just knew everything else suddenly seemed to have fallen silent when the figure that the dragon carried dismounted.

Clad in shining gold armor with silver edges, with some blue fabric under it, the same color of the cape that flapped softly on their back (And what was it with everyone in this world wearing capes? It made him feel way less unique…).

From behind the golden helmet they wore, the Integrity Knight stared at the destroyed land around them, before their gaze moved straight towards Kirito.

"Sy-Synthesis Thirty-sama!" gasped several of the Subterraneans, some of the most silent ones even kneeling in awe.

For his part…the black-haired boy felt as if his brain had suddenly filled with static. Like something within his soul was…screaming.

 _I know this person._

 **No, I don't.**

 _This person…they're special to me._

 **No…they're not the person I can't remember.**

 _What…what is this?_

 **Who…who am I…? Who…?**

"Wh-who…who are you?" gasped the gamer while wincing harshly, trying to dispel the painful haze that was suddenly clouding his mind and soul.

For all answer…the Golden Knight raised their arm, slowly. Tensing, Kirito was confused when they forego grasping the blade at their side and instead just…extended their armored limb to the side, like a…

The Integrity Knight _moved_. Kirito's instincts screamed, the World slowing down around him, the Subterraneans now all but frozen in his inhuman perception as he prepared himself to evade…but something was wrong.

All around the boy, everything, from the humanoid creatures to the remains of dirt, from the wind to the falling leaves, all was frozen within instants…except for the Golden Knight.

They still moved…no, they still RAN directly towards him, with their arm raised directly to the side.

Realization hit the otherworldly gamer way too late. There was no time for him to even try and run now. All he could do as he saw the arm shooting towards him was have one last, terrible thought of recognition.

 _"S-Class Hero, Rank 13. Flashy Fla…"_

The armored arm slammed against his neck, robbing him of the air within his lungs and sending him flying back, careening through the dirt.

For a moment, Kirito thought he could hear childish laughter that brought warmth to his heart, the strange image of three children smiling under a black tree swimming through his mind, before endless Chains crushed them without mercy…

Then, the black-haired boy crashed against the Immortal Wall and the darkness took him.

In the real world, within one of Tokyo's hospitals, Kirigaya Suguha stood from the hospital bed she had been resting in, eyes wide with fear from the nightmare she had just had.

"Onii-chan…?"

Back within the Underworld…the Golden Knight looked down towards the broken form of the stranger that had decimated an unbelievable amount of Subterraneans and caused more damage than all but the greatest Cursed monsters around had ever done.

More of the Humanoid Creatures walked near them, looking at the unmoving boy too, noticing the slow rising on his chest.

"Yo-you…didn't kill him, Synthesis 30-sama?"

"…look around you. To find this kind of power in a Non-Cursed one is…beyond outrageous. It can't just be wasted like that." declared the Integrity Knight while looking back at the Subterraneans. "Pursue his companions at once! They can't have gotten too far without knowing Eastabarieth's geography!"

"A-at once, Knight-sama!" declared several of the creatures while rushing towards the hole on the wall or simply digging under the earth. "A-and…what about him?"

"…I just happened to be passing through while heading back to the capital for the Mass Recall. Take him to the Pit until I come back to check on him. With some luck, he will at least get a cell with his fellow criminals…"

" Bu-but…only the warden is supposed to send anyone into the Pit for…"

Without given the creature time to finish, the Golden Knight silently took off the helmet covering their head.

Hair the color of gold fell down her back like a bright cascade. Eyes the color of the purest sky, cold and unblinking, stared into the world, framed into a face as beautiful as it was severe.

"So orders Alice Synthesis Thirty, Subterranean. Are you going to question me?" demanded the golden-haired girl with a gaze that could make even the bravest men cower.

"N-no! never! You-you three, grab the criminal, we're joining the chase and then moving to the pit!"

"Good." nodded Alice while once again looking towards the battered body of the boy as the humanoid creatures held him. "…I can't waste any more time here. Let's go, Amayori."

The dragon waiting for her roared in answer, seemingly as eager of getting away from that destroyed-looking land as its owner.

Meanwhile…four people ran through the forests of Eastabarieth, looking tired and out of breath. An air of worry surrounded them and their hearts felt unusually heavy, their gazes continuously moving behind them and wondering why their friend hadn't yet…

"Wait…stop!" shouted Eugeo with suddenly sharp eyes, the three girls freezing in place and looking at him in confusion. "…there is someone up ahead."

Eyes wide, the three females looked forward, Selka doing her best to keep the tired Ronye standing while Tiese tensed, wondering if she would have to drop the boy on her back to fight.

The sound that reached their ears was unexpected, though. That of…hooves over dirt.

Shocked, the group witnessed how a silver _six-legged horse_ , of all things, emerged from the trees, the beast's four white eyes fixed upon them. However, it was the armored figure on its back what was truly amazing.

Armor clearly not of a knight covered their whole body, looking impossibly made as a single part connected with many joints, mostly silver but with purple accents. Their head was a helmet with two long horns…and the face had 2 big 'eyes' that seemed almost made of green crystal, like those of an insect or a mosaic of glass.

Awed, Ronye mumbled the words Eugeo had already suspected upon seeing the apparition, despite having no way of actually knowing it for sure.

"The Rider of Eastabarieth…"

"Follow me if you want to live." declared the Rider with a voice that couldn't be questioned, gesturing sharply behind them and into the suddenly strangely dark woods. "We don't have time."

"Wa-wait, no! One of our friends is still back there; he will catch up with us in no…!"

"The bloodhounds of the Axiom Church are already coming. Sleipnir can feel they have entered the forest. No one else is behind you." interrupted the armored stranger while their horse growled slightly, making the group's hearts skip a beat. "I'm sorry, but your friend may be dead."

"N-no…no…" muttered Selka while falling to her knees, suddenly seeming devoid of strength. At her side, Ronye covered her mouth with horror, eyes filled with tears.

Tiese held back a sob…before feeling a tight grip on her, the vampire's eyes moving to see the undead's eyes hidden by his hair, trails of tears slipping down as he bit his lips.

"…can you really get us somewhere safe?" asked Eugeo with the firmest voice he could muster.

"Yes. But you must follow me now."

Slowly, the green-eyed boy nodded, gesturing for Tiese to move. Somberly, she did, grabbing both the unmoving and the crying girls before them and rushing after the Rider as they rode into the shadows.

When the Subterraneans arrived at the area, they would keep going, not finding anyone around.

At the Edge of Reality, [DESTINY] looked down at the board with something akin to sadness, or at least some very distant cosmic parallel, even as the Chains around the Universe before him seemed more and more numerous than ever.

As he saw most of the pieces vanish into shadows around the newest extra one, a Knight piece with a strange belt and clad in fantastic armor, the youngest Absolute One looked back at the fallen form of their King, a caped and corrupted Queen clad in gold towering over him.

"[Masked Knight takes extra-pieces away. Golden Queen puts Black-White King in Check…and so, the 'game' stalls.]"

And silently, the time of Judgment kept approaching…

* * *

 **…EMERGENCY STATE DECLARED. MASS RECALL ISSUED.**

 **ALL INTEGRITY KNIGHTS RETURNING TO CENTRAL CATHEDRAL.**

 **REPORT LOGS ON HOLD. REPORT ABOUT ISSUES NEAR THE EASTABARIETH-NORLANGARTH IMMORTAL WALL ON HOLD.**

 **CLOSING…**

 **…**

…

…Kirito…forgive me…

* * *

 **Arc 2: Of Heroes and Monsters** **-END**

* * *

 _Next…_

 **Stories aren't always nice. Sometimes…**

 _Rinko: This is crazy…we're all going to get arrested…or worse, die._

 _?1: We will take that risk, thank you very much._

 _?2: Sensei…we're coming!_

 **…even the nicest stories have their fair share of tragedy.**

Higa: Welcome to the Ocean Turtle!

Kikuoka: This is…the greatest project this country…no, perhaps mankind, has ever pursued. This is 'Alicization'.

 **But one must always remember, that when the shadows are at their darkest…**

 _Xaxa: Ki…ri…to. HE is…there…!_

 _PoH: Hoh? Well, isn't that just a nice surprise?_

 **…the light shines at its brightest.**

 _Suguha:…I can't stay here. He needs me. Justice?_

 _Justice:…yes, Master?_

 _Suguha:…give me wings._

 **Next time on 'One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate':**

 **Interlude: The True Justice**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Man, that was a short but intense chapter, eh? Fitting for the end of another of CoF's 'mini arcs', I believe.

Well, with this chapter, we have concluded our view into how warped this Underworld, that some 'genius' thought filling with OPM's powers would be a good idea, is. Canon Alicization is actually very twisted too, but it doesn't become apparent until later vols, as everything is 'hidden' under the surface. Here, though, Kirito has come face-first with its 'ugliness' almost from the beginning to the extreme because everything is way too more whacky than it was in Canon.

And so, our UDW Heroes have managed to escape…but, at the cost of our Hero? What will happen to him now? Who is the mysterious 'Rider'? Also, she showed up! Bet many weren't expecting to see her so early, uh? What will 'Alice' do with Kirito now…?

Many of those mysteries will be answered at some point…but first, the Integrity Knights shall assemble! Why have they all been called to Central Cathedral? The answer to that question…not next time, because we have an Interlude first XP!

But that aside, I will stop bothering you and leave you with today's RWBY Omake, which goes a bit different from the previous ones for a change :P

* * *

 **Omake: Capes and Roses 6**

Team RWBY's room at Beacon wasn't exactly what you would expect from aspiring defenders of humanity. Then again, some would probably argue that the four girls were still teenagers for anyone that tried to complain about that.

Said people would probably reconsider their stance once they saw the insult towards the laws of structural balance that the Huntresses had called 'bunk beds', though.

Lying in one of them, the form of a black-haired Cat Faunus seemed to be trying to make herself as small as possible, under the worried gazes of the rest of her team.

It had been two days since the whole debacle at the docks, and while under normal circumstances the girl would be relieved and happy at the gentle acceptance and forgiveness she had received from her friends after they knew of her past, the current situation…

"Blake…you have to stop blaming yourself." spoke Weiss of all people, shifting uncomfortably in place as she did so. "You didn't…you weren't trying to hurt him, remember?"

"I…I still did. Gods, how could I have been such a…hypocrite?" mumbled the Faunus while grabbing her ears, which were surprisingly exposed, flattening them against her head. "The whole reason I have always fought for was because of the unjust fear and discrimination against the Faunus for being different…and yet, the moment I thought he was some sort of monster, despite having just saved my life…I basically acted like the very thing I say to fight against!"

At that moment, the horror and the fear consuming her had been beyond overwhelming. So much that she didn't even blame Sun for running away and not even looking back. If the situations were inverted and she had been the one able to move, she would have done the same to him, after all.

The moment whatever the 'boy' had done was over, though, and she could think rationally again…she had realized of the horrible way in which she had all but screamed for the one who saved her life to get out of her sight, as if he was some horrible monster. The fact that even now, two days later, they still hadn't seen even the slightest signal of him, didn't really help at all.

"Hey partner, you need to cheer up. Kirito is a big guy, I'm sure he didn't take whatever you said too seriously." 'comforted' her Yang while walking to her side and all but forcing her to sit-up. "He had to know you were…scared, I suppose, if whatever he did was…half as bad as the aftermath."

That was another reason why the mood between the girls was so 'mixed-up'. After all, whatever had happened down there in the docks had been BIG, and that Blake recalled so little of the actual part where everything went to hell hadn't helped to make it too clear.

Somehow, it seemed as if a localized meteor had smashed most of the area apart all the way to the dirt under the buildings' foundations. The White Fang members that had been present there had all but flown away, either falling into the water or, the less fortunate ones, crashing through or into nearby structures, suffering severe wounds.

At least they had been luckier than the ones in the stolen Bullheads, though. When the giant debris caused by what the Cat Faunus had only described as Kirito 'foot-stomping' had hit them, one of the ships had crashed down and none of the people within had survived. The other had slammed into the water and only half the Faunus inside had managed to swim out to be apprehended, their comrades drowning with the machine.

Team RWBY had been beyond horrified upon learning of this at first. However, their reactions had become more muted and somewhat conflicted after Blake fully explained the events that took place, from her and Sun almost being killed before the caped boy arrived to the fact that Torchwick (Who had vanished without a trace) had basically _blown him up with an entire Dust container_.

Ruby was clearly the one that had taken the news in the most complex and conflicted way, though. On one hand, her first friend had, even if indirectly, caused the death of many people. On the other, they had not only been criminals but had been actively trying to kill one of her other friends and almost managed to do the same with him…

"I still don't understand, though…what kind of Aura lets someone shrug off a Dust container exploding point blank and still have power to do something _like that_?" questioned Weiss while frowning and crossing her arms, the question that had been more or less plaguing her mind for the past days returning once again.

"I don't know…maybe his Semblance lets him absorb energy and release it back or something? Kind of like mine?" offered Yang with a small shrug, not really that curious about how Kirito had pulled off the unreal feat as she was of him coming back.

She needed to punch him for making her sister worry so much, after all. Ruby had NEVER been as silent in her 15 years of life as she had been in the last two days. Then, she would thank him for saving her partner's life too, she supposed.

"Girls…I keep telling you, that wasn't a Semblance at all…he…he has something…is something…I don't know how to explain it, but I know that Kirito is not a normal person." whispered Blake while closing her eyes and reaching for her bow, slowly tying it up over her ears. "…he's still a…friend, though. A friend that tried to make me see reason on your behalf and even came to help me when I ignored his warning to not…"

"Blake. Stop."

All three older girls in the room froze, Yang and Weiss quickly exchanging a shocked look before turning to look at the speaker.

Not only because those were the first words Ruby Rose had said in over two hours, but also because there was an unusually serious if kind tone in her voice as she said them.

"Ruby…" mumbled the Cat Faunus as she saw her young Team leader walk forward and put a hand on her shoulder while smiling.

It just occurred to her, that the two had probably interacted the least out of the entire team, mainly because of their quite opposite personalities.

"I may have known Kirito for a short time, but I like to think I understand him to some level. And that we're good friends…in a weird way in which he just vanishes and reappears whenever I need help in some way, at least!" rambled the silver-eyed girl before chuckling softly. "What I mean, though, is that I'm sure he wouldn't blame you for whatever happened down there. And if it hurt him to some level…well, nothing you can't fix by apologizing to him, right?"

"D-do you actually mean that…?"

"Of course! Besides, it's more than I can say about Penny…she wouldn't leave me the whole day and then after the mess in the docks she just vanished without even saying goodbye." pouted Ruby while wondering what happened to the peculiar girl. "So tomorrow we're going to go and look for him so you can apologize, okay?"

"Ruby…I…thanks, you're right." softly smiled the black-haired girl while letting out a deep sigh, even as Yang and Weiss exchanged somewhat relieved looks, proud at the maturity shown by their sister and partner respectively. "I assure you that…uhm…Ruby…you're kind of…squeezing my shoulder too much…?"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't even realize." continued the silver-eyed girl with a way-too-cheerful smile that sent shivers down Blake's back. "Also, if we don't find Kirito at all, don't worry! You will only have to live with your guilt and the knowledge you drove away forever my best friend for the rest of your life!"

All of a sudden, the Cat Faunus was rethinking what she believed about the innocence and goodwill of her Team leader ignoring the gaping looks of the other two girls in favor of wondering where the strange boy with the mysterious 'secret' could be.

Well, it wasn't as if he could have gone too far, right…?

At that moment, in a snow-covered forest…a Beowulf flew through the air and slammed against a tree, dissolving into nothingness before even hitting the ground.

"…yes, I know I'm being stupid. And yes, I know I should have gone back already. I may be unable to hear you in this state, but just the barest hints of your feelings are more than enough for me to know."

As he said those words, the Heroic Spirit sighed, looking down at his right arm that he had just used to punch the Grimm. For an instant, as he stared fixedly at it, the entire limb 'flickered', as if about to dissolve into static.

Remnant reasserted its Will over him quickly, though, letting his fragile vessel solidify again and preventing Reality from rejecting his existence.

"…I didn't want to make things even more complicated by having THIS happen, though. Gods, I was so stupid by letting something as small as that explosion make me do that…"

It was true, after all, that he had overreacted unnecessarily and, as consequence, risked the existence of his very fragile physical vessel. After all, Planetary Summonings offered him what was probably the poorest kinds, nothing like the likes of being a Servant or a Familiar, and it had been a miracle his Incarnation and Remnant's willingness to keep him there had endured when he let his True Nature gleam into the world. Under normal circumstances, he would have never done it for such a small thing, but…

The explosion and falling down, coupled with the fact that it had happened as he was trying to protect someone, had brought back…bad memories. Especially with the darkness enveloping him as he fell down into the sea.

For a moment, he had feared that his mistake would end up with Blake dead, and he had let his emotions take the better of him.

How ironic. After countless Summons thanks to his 'Curse', the single thing he did his best to keep intact so as to not become a bitter monster, his humanity, had almost screwed him over.

That look of terror in the Faunus girl's face, that horror on the blonde boy as he ran away…it wasn't the first time he saw it, not by a long shot. Nor, he was sadly sure, it would be the last.

Some may have thought that running away in a random direction while absentmindedly punching Grimm so fast that he soon found himself running over the ocean, then stopping on this island (At least he thought it was one) to just punch things for the last days was an exaggeration, but the caped 'Hero' knew better.

Maybe he was acknowledged by the Omniverse as a 'Hero', but he knew better than most that he wasn't an impish paragon of goodness and Justice.

He was a living force of nature even before becoming a Heroic Spirit. Many had called him a monster or difamed his name, cursed his actions and more, through many universes. Sometimes…good people too, not only villains or evildoers.

Sometimes, especially in Summons like this one, where he was not directly 'linked' to a specific person, he wondered if his presence didn't do more harm than good…

Smiling softly at the constant reassurance coming from his Unbreakable Bond with his family all the way to the Throne, the black-haired 'boy' walked out of the woods…and stopped, blinking in surprise at what he was seeing.

Namely, the beautifully crafted, if simple-looking, rectangular tombstone lying at the edge of a sharp cliff before him, which seemed to have some sort of flower motif on it. It was the inscription on it, however, what truly gave the Heroic Spirit pause.

 **'Summer Rose'**

 **'Thus Kindly I Scatter'**

"…no way. What are the odds that I would end…? Ugh!" groaning and ignoring the whispers of emotion coming from his Bond for once, Kirito glared to the heavens, a dangerous look in his eyes. "Is this you again, [DESTINY]?! Are you trying to mess with me?!"

Of course, no Absolute One answered, but the caped Hero wasn't fooled. After all, that particular one was _always_ watching him, for reasons he didn't understand nor cared about. As he had always been since his time in the Underworld.

Besides, that would be the only explanation for the absurd coincidence of having ended before the grave of his young friend's mother. The fact that Ruby had only mentioned Summer in passing during one of their random talks as she told him excitedly about her dreams and how she hoped to be like her mother just made it even more so. After all, he had no idea about Remnant's geography, but he knew enough to know the chances of him ending in that exact spot of Patch Island when he didn't even know where said island exactly was were beyond infinitesimal…unless someone was moving the strings. Again.

Nevertheless, in the end, the Heroic Spirit just sighed and walked towards the tomb with resignation, staring at it and at the beautiful white roses someone had put around it not long ago.

Taking a deep breath…the one whose fists cold split Reality started talking.

"Hey there, Miss Rose. Sorry for coming unannounced and…well, you probably don't even know who I am, and maybe I'm just doing this pointlessly as I don't even know if there is a working afterlife in this Universe, but…the point is, I have met your daughters. Both of them are great girls, by the way, I'm sure you're very proud."

Of course, Kirito was more than aware of the fact that Yang and Ruby obviously weren't biologically daughters of the same mother (The silver-eyed girl had mentioned it in passing, besides the obvious differences between them), but the little he had heard about Summer Rose from both made it clear she had considered them both her daughters, and they the same too.

"I have even become kind of good friends with Ruby, and I like to think Yang is okay with me too…the thing is…I'm not sure if it's for the best that I keep being around them or their other friends. You see…I'm dangerous. I try and do my best every time to help out and protect those I end up close with, but sometimes it doesn't turn out all that well. Sometimes I even make things worse or, if not, end up…'changing' the people I interact with, in ways that they can't ever return from. It's usually for the best, many have told me, but…I guess I just wanted to know what you thought. They're your daughters, after all, and I know a thing or two about being worried for one's children, so: Should I stay close to them, despite everything that may happen if I do?"

For a moment, even as only the silence of the forest's cliff greeted him, Kirito wondered if perhaps he had just wasted his time.

Then, an unusually cold whisper of wind seemed to shimmer around him, prompting the Heroic Spirit to turn around.

Standing not far from him, a ghostly apparition clad in a white hood, red on the inside, gave him a brief smile. Then, she vanished into white rose petals, which scattered in the wind.

A resigned smile appeared on the caped Hero's face.

"Message received…also, you can all stop worrying, I know I'm an idiot. Some things just don't change, huh? Now, which way was back to Vale…?"

The next morning, when he came to give his late wife's grave a visit, Taiyang Xiao Long would be shocked to find several red roses and sunflowers had been left around it.

Meanwhile, back at the entrance of Beacon…Team RWBY was getting ready to head out into Vale, to look for signs of their vanished friend.

"Okay then! So, I and Weiss will cover the West side of the city while you and Blake take care of the East!" repeated Ruby what they already knew more than by memory, under the bemused gaze of her sister. "Hopefully we will be able to find him before the end of…"

"Hey, need a hand?" asked the unexpected voice of Jaune Arc, making the four girls turn around to see him and the rest of Team JNPR walking their way. "You're going to look for Kirito, right? We can help."

"Yeah! We will find him and then break his legs for running without explanations!"

"We're not going to do that, Nora…"

"The more the merrier, as they say, right?"

"Jaune, everyone…thanks." smiled Ruby with a thankful look before turning around and pointing dramatically towards the Bullheads' docks. "Now c'mon, let's go find Ki…rito…?"

"…well, this is awkward." mumbled Kirito while scratching his head under the wide-eyed looks of the 8 teenagers. "And you all looked so pumped up too…"

"Ki-Kirito?! You're back?!" all but squeaked the silver-eyed girl, rubbing her eyes as if not believing it.

"…yes, Ruby. Sorry for running off like that. And before you say anything, Blake, I want you to know it's not your fault." pointed the caped Hero while giving the Faunus an awkward smile. "If anything, is probably mine for being so careless back there."

"…maybe so. But still, I need to say…forgive me. I shouldn't have overreacted like that and…"

"You're forgiven, then." chuckled the Heroic Spirit before closing his eyes, as if considering something, opening them to give the gathered group an unusually 'old' stare. "That said…there is something I should probably tell you."

"Something you should…?" started to say Ruby before Kirito's next words made her freeze in silence.

"Tell me…do you believe in magic and ghosts?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes 2:** Some inner reflections, some small developments, and now, a shocking talk! Next time, Kirito tell RWBY and JNPR about things no normal person would believe…

That shall be for the next time, though. For now, time to write more of 'The Eroge'!

Till then, this is Saint, signing off!


	10. Interlude: The True Justice

Hello there again, everyone! Been a long time, eh?

So, for the few that read this but don't read my other stories, know that the reason why I didn't update in so long was explained in the pre-chapter Author Notes of Lusus Naturae's latest chapter. Please, refer to that if you wish to know the reasons so that I don't have to copy-paste a wall of text there XP

That aside, back to writing more of the crazy sequel to my first SAO work! And you know what? Despite this currently being my least popular active story, both in number of reviews/readers and fav/follows, I still love working on it and heading down its crazy path towards its end, as it makes me feel…fulfilled, you could say, that slowly but surely I approach the end of a story that started me into writing SAO :3

The hype for the upcoming Alicization anime also helps! Who knows, maybe watching it will motivate more people to read this…even if it's going to be like 1 year+ of airing before it's over, what with it being 4 cour-confirmed and the expected 'pause' between the first 2 cours and the latest ones (Like when FSN Unlimited Blade Works anime aired). Man, I can't wait to see some of the most epic scenes animated :D

Also, as a small side-note, quite a few people compared Kirito's performance at the end of last chapter with how Midoriya Izuku/Deku from 'My Hero Academia' fights and injures himself at the beginning, so I just wanted to point out that it's a superficial similarity at best: Besides the fact that, believe it or not, I had actually planned this part of Kirito's 'road to recovery' back when I was finishing the first OPG, long before I read MHA's manga, there is the fact that it's not that Kirito's body couldn't handle his 'power' like Deku's does, it's just that he couldn't 'fully' call on it, and that created an imbalance which injured the 'Underworld Body' he has now, but the body of the 'One Punch-Gamer' was never once injured, as it was kind of hinted.

If you don't get the explanation, don't worry, you will in time, but anything more detailed would be Spoilers. So, with that said, I leave you all with today's Interlude! Enjoy!

Oh, and remember, help filling out this story's TvTropes page is always appreciated!

Enjoy!

 **PS:** This chapter was Betaed once again by Pikatwins! Thanks a lot, pal :3!

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Interlude: The True Justice**

 _The sun's rays fell, hard. It was making him sweat a lot. Yet, he kept running, even as he felt his legs burning and the need to drink some cold water grow with each step, even as he kept thinking how stupid this all was…_

 _Because he didn't want to be left behind._

 _"Co…come on, Eugeo…we have…almost finished…" panted Alice at his side while doing her best to keep up the pace, the little girl giving an encouraging smile that normally would have re-energized him easily, but at this point it barely was enough to make him smile._

 _"Ye-yes…you're right…!"_

 _"Heh, got to say guys, I really didn't expect you two to join me today!" cheerfully declared the_ **[Empty Shadow]** _running before them, grinning their way as he kept ahead with seemingly no effort. "C'mon now, we're just two Kilolu away from having run all ten!"_

 _"Ho-how can…you do this every single day,_ **[Empty Shadow]** _?!"demanded the blonde girl with clear annoyance, at least what little she could muster to show in her tired childish face. "I…feel like I'm dying here already! A-and just the push-ups almost killed Eugeo!"_

 _"Tha-that's not true, Alice…" mumbled the green-eyed boy while trying to keep putting a foot before the other, trying not to think how his legs felt like two burning pieces of wood. "I just…lost my balance for a bit and…had to catch my breath…argh…"_

 _"Well, it IS meant to be a very hard training, I was just like you two when I just started…but now I'm kinda used to it!" replied the_ **[Empty Shadow]** _with a small shrug, before his smile returned full-force. "Now how about we stop wasting time and get those last Kilolu done?! Let's go!"_

 _"I swear…how in the Goddesses' names does he do it?" grumbled Alice before a determined glint filled her eyes, turning for a moment to look at her all-but-falling-over friend. "Eugeo, I'm…going to catch up, okay? You rest…if you need to, I know you already were…dead on your feet back with the Sit-ups…"_

 _"Wha…?! Bu-but you also… almost couldn't get through the push-ups!" complained Eugeo with shock/accusation before seeing the blonde child speed up, shouting to the_ **[Empty Shadow]** _that she would catch up in no time. "N-no…wait! Don't…don't leave me behind! I-I can…I can catch up too! I can…"_

 _He could…but he was so tired…all of his body ached and they were getting farther and further away. Leaving him behind._

 _Because he was just unable to…catch up to them…_

With a startled gasp, the pale form of Eugeo of Rulid sat up, eyes wide and scanning the dark room around him with unusual sharpness.

Across it, lying against a wall, a bluish blade and a white axe seemed to stare at him, as if judging his existence.

After several seconds of silence and realizing that nothing was wrong in the damp space, the undead sighed and let himself fall back into the old bed.

A dream. Just a dream…though a very strange and nostalgic one.

It had been…about that time he and Alice had tried that crazy 'workout'…for reasons he couldn't quite remember, really, and that just made him frown slightly.

100 push-ups. 100 sit-ups. 100 squats. And running 10 Kilolu, every single day.

Such a crazy and senseless thing, obviously something children shouldn't even be thinking about, much less those with Sacred Tasks as time-consuming as they had…

Why had they even tried it, even if only for one day? Eugeo honestly couldn't remember, and the memory seemed to grow foggier the more he tried to focus on that particular subject…but it didn't change what had really made it stand up for him.

Alice had left him behind despite his best efforts. Even when giving his all, he had been unable to live up to her expectations (Even if the girl probably didn't see it that way).

He had failed her again, that day with the Integrity Knight when she had needed him the most. Despite doing his best for him, beyond anything he thought he would ever do…it still hadn't been enough to save her.

And now…he had failed once again, failed someone that had trusted him.

That's why he…why _they all_ were still there, after all, right? How long had it been now? A bit over 6 months? More? That made it already over a year since they left Rulid…though for the undead boy it was more like a lifetime ago.

It was no surprise, though. After all, in a way, despite having survived, despite having managed to get where they had been trying to go after meeting Ronye and Tiese…they had lost the will to try to continue their journey, to try anything else because of his (And he would always insist in that the fault was his alone) failure.

Despite how strong he had become since his greatest failure as a kid, it had still not been enough to save Kirito. Once again, he had failed someone he had come to consider a close friend, perhaps the closest he had had since Alice.

Always a failure, destined to have others paying for this mista…

"…it hurts to see you making that face, Eugeo-sempai."

"…don't call me that." sighed Eugeo while opening his eyes again (Idly wondering at which point he had closed them in pain), seeing the pale form of a red-haired and red-eyed girl standing on the frame of his now open door. "We're all equals here, remember, Tiese?"

"Be that as it may, you're still the one training me…teaching me how to defend myself, how to make sure I can control my Curse properly instead of the other way around…and that makes you my Sempai in my eyes." softly replied Tiese while walking to his side, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "…you can't keep blaming yourself."

"It was my fault. I was the one with the most experience…he wasn't even from this world, dammit! He said…he said he had a family he wanted to return to!" all but shouted the green-eyed 'zombie' while clenching his fists, the weapons leaning on the wall shaking at his angry Will. "And yet, he was the one to…!"

"You were _missing half your body_ , and you still killed more Subterraneans than me!" the vampiress interjected with a fierce tone, forcing him to look at her. "You fought the hardest of us all back there at the wall; we would have all died if you weren't there! Kirito…he chose to stay back so that we could run away because he knew YOU would be able to keep us safe. So…s-so please, stop…I can't stand…I can't stand seeing everyone like this…"

For a moment, the undead stared at the red-haired girl's teary face, feeling unusually ashamed as he reached out and wiped a tear from her eyes.

She was cold, but then again, he was colder still. Caused by their unnatural natures.

And yet, both felt the gesture to be unusually warm, so much so that Tiese's inhumanly pale cheeks managed to flush a little.

"…how are they today?" finally asked Eugeo while letting go of her and standing up.

"A-a bit better, I-I think…" mumbled the redhead while trying to calm down her hammering heart, cursing when she was unable to not stutter. "Ronye has…actually been getting much better since she started putting everything she had on her training. Is…Selka-chan who has worried me the most always. Back then, when we got there, she…she barely ate or said anything…"

"…I know. Kirito was…I guess he got closer to her than anyone had done in forever to her. Maybe even more than I did when we were younger." muttered the green-eyed boy as he walked towards where his coat was, now fully 'repaired' and looking all the weirder for it in his eyes. "Can't say it's surprising, though. He had this…I don't know, 'something' that just drew you towards him in a strange way, that made you feel you could trust him…maybe it had something to do with being from another world, or maybe he was just like that naturally…"

"…I think I get what you mean. Ronye definitively seemed more taken by him than I ever thought she would with anyone besides myself, what with her fears and insecurities…" Suddenly, the vampiress seemed hesitant, as if fearing that what she had to say next would shake the undead further. "…I think they believe he's still alive."

Eugeo went deadly still, as if someone had frozen him, his back to Tiese as she tried to gauge his reaction.

"…really?"

"Ye-yes…I think that's why Ronye has been suddenly trying so hard to master her Curse and why Selka has started to cheer up and look so determined again. They heard some rumors around, about that…that prison that's supposedly here in Eastabarieth too." continued the redhead while her tongue nervously moved over her fangs, something he had idly noticed she did more than once. "That a lot of Subterraneans were seen moving back and forth through the deepest parts of the forests, and even an Integrity Knight doing so several times. As if suddenly something 'important' had been moved there…"

"…they know that could be anything, or even nothing, at all, right?"

The vampiress nodded, wondering if the lack of any emotion in the green-eyed boy's voice was a good or a bad signal.

"I…assume they do, but…well, they're clinging to that hope." she finished with a strangely sad tone.

"…I see." simply declared Eugeo before reaching out, his weapons flying to his hands as he calmly put them on his side and his back. "Let's get going then, Tiese. Is getting late and we still have to train."

"…wha-what if they're right?!" suddenly shouted Tiese as the undead was about to leave the room, though not facing him as she did so. "What if…what if he's really alive?"

For a moment, no answer was given, the redhead even believing the boy was just going to ignore her as he opened the door.

Outside, walking through the hallway, 'monsters' and people that had one or more traits that would have made them be considered as such roamed…all of them talking with each other and doing other normal activities, a few even greeting them as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Then, to the vampiress' surprise, Eugeo finally answered, with a tone colder than ice and sharper than any sword

"Then I will do everything I can to bring him back. I still have to get him to help me save Alice, after all…and I refuse to 'fail' a third time."

With those words, the unorthodox dual-wielder swore his promise, to himself, to Alice, to Kirito…and to the boy's family, waiting for him in the other world.

Of course, the undead had no way of knowing that said family's time for 'waiting' had ended long ago.

Like him, they were more than ready to ACT if it meant getting the one called 'Kirito' back…

* * *

 **April 3rd, 2026. Location Classified, Somewhere above Japan's Sea. 09:35…**

Breaking the calm of the morning above the ocean, the loud sounds of a helicopter's blades cut through the air, the nondescript vehicle flying at high speeds.

Within, aside from the obvious noise, it was surprisingly silent, the pilot actually quite nervous from the unusually tense atmosphere, giving small glances towards the passengers as if to make sure they hadn't vanished all of a sudden.

But now, as far as he could see, Koujiro Rinko and her two bodyguards were still there, both the long-haired blonde and the brunette with the military cut, the three women barely looking at each other as they continuously glanced out of the window.

"Uhm, Koujiro-san? We're just about to arrive." nervously informed the man while drawing all attention to himself, wondering how good those two girls in the black suits had to be at their jobs if they could make him shiver like that with just their sunglasses-covered gazes. "We should be seeing the Ocean Turtle any moment now…"

"…so that's it." muttered Rinko as, effectively, the unusual and massive structure that was their destination came into view, looking like something straight out of some sci-fi film. "That's what Takeru has been helping Kikuoka with for so long. It's…"

"What the actual hell is that thing?" interrupted the brunette bodyguard with a disbelief-filled voice.

"Uh?"

"It's…it's a fucking giant turtle-shaped super-facility with a goddamn pyramid as its shell! In the middle of the ocean, surrounded by freaking battleships!" pointed out the girl while looking clearly incredulous at the whole thing. "For the love of Kami, that thing looks as if it's just waiting for an order to transform into a giant robot and fight a kaiju in the middle of Tokyo! Who thought this was a good idea for a secret facility?!"

"…te-technically, the facility itself isn't 'secret', it's publicly a facility for seabed oil extraction and research into AIs used for small submarines to navigate on their own." commented the pilot with a hesitant smile.

This time, all three women deadpanned at him, before once again looking at the bizarre structure and its even more bizarre appearance, especially with the pig-like 'head' and the countless solar panels on the 'pyramid-shell'. Also, the several battleships around it, because those just couldn't stay out of sight.

The pilot decided not to say anything else, staying silent the rest of the little time they still had on the air.

Once again, though…the air around the passengers grew tense, even as Rinko once again looked down and put her hands on her head, starting to whisper harshly.

"This is crazy…no, beyond that! We're all going to get arrested, or worse…killed."

"That's a risk we're more than willing to take, thank you very much." coldly replied the brunette while giving her a small glare, before turning a worried look towards the 'secret' facility. "…Kirito…"

"Hang in there, Sensei…" muttered the blonde as she also stared towards the 'Ocean Turtle' with determination. "We're coming!"

And with those declarations, the helicopter headed towards the building hiding more secrets than the world would be willing to accept, carrying a half-willing woman and two determined and disguised 'Heroes'…

At that same moment, though, all the way back to the mainland, in a hospital of Tokyo…Kirigaya Suguha's eyes snapped open, the girl gasping for breath and looking around in a panic, reaching for a shinai she wasn't carrying before realizing she was no longer on a dark alley. Confused, the young vigilante looked down at herself, finally realized she was wearing a hospital gown and that she probably was, indeed, in one of the aforementioned facilities.

When she tried to get out of bed, though, Suguha had to hold back a pained moan, finally aware of the pain coming from most of her body.

Looking closer, she saw the many covered and treated bruises she had from her 'rampage', not to mention the bandages covering most of her slightly throbbing arm, where she had actually been wounded by a goddamn katana, now that she remembered.

And remember is what she did, as she sat still for a moment and let everything come back to her: Her rampage to find any clue about her brother's whereabouts, her 'fight' against the Yakuza, the girls finding her, **_Xaxa_** …

"A-ah…that's right…Arg-, no, Shiori!" shouted the young kendoka while her gaze swept over the room.

She found what, or more exactly 'who', she was looking for at almost the opposite extreme, a familiar figure resting at a bed and with a few machines monitoring her vitals. More than the lonely one there was for her.

Startled, the secret vigilante stood up despite the slight pain that made her feel (Idly aware that she must have been administered something to soothe it given how drowsy she was feeling), walking towards the other bed and staring at Izawa Shiori's unconscious form.

Overall, the girl looked much better than her, at least when it came to the number of wounds she seemed to have…but the way in which her hands were bandaged and immobilized to the bed, not to mention with small casts forcefully keeping most of her fingers in their proper place, made her grimace at how gruesome the damage and the pain must have been.

There was also the pair of medical patches covering the girl's cheeks, but Suguha was hesitant to call what was covered by those 'wounds'. After all, the 'whisker-marks' that had seemingly burned themselves on her friend's cheeks before she pulled off that miraculous 'combo' that had both saved her life and drive Xaxa's monstrous-self away didn't really seem all that serious, but somehow the black-haired girl suspected the doctors wouldn't have seen it that way.

It was as she was contemplating this and clenching her fists at what she had, in her mind, indirectly caused, when a familiar voice all but flooded her mind with relief.

 _'Master! Thank the Heavens and Everything else!'_ cried Justice within the young kendoka's mind, a mere focus of her concentration letting her 'see' the bicycle was currently hidden somewhere in an alley near the hospital. _'You have been out for hours since they brought you here and the doctors made you sleep! I was worried sick that maybe…!'_

"Justice, slow down. I'm fine, but I need answers." softly replied Suguha with a small smile, wincing slightly as she made her way back to bed. "What…what happened yesterday, after the alley? Somehow, everything after that is kind of a blur for me, probably because of the drugs they gave me for the pain…"

 _'Ye-yes, well, Sinon…Shino, that is, called Asuna and she picked you all up on her car. We stopped not far from the hospital to get rid of your 'costumes' and to hide me, then she kept going and entered all scared asking for help. I'm not sure what kind of story she told the medical staff, but they brought you three inside very quickly.'_ explained the bicycle/katana/spirit while the vigilante hugged her legs with a deep-thinking expression. _'Shino-san was released after a couple hours as she was barely hurt but you both had to be hospitalized…your mother is somewhere in the building, and I'm pretty sure Arg…Shiori's parents too. Everyone else was here earlier too, but a couple of them left not long ago because…'_

"Onii-chan." suddenly interrupted the young kendoka with wide eyes, all but jumping to her feet and ignoring the dull pain as she did so. "I…they said they had found him! Did they go for him?! Who went?! And why didn't they wait for met to…?!"

 _'Master, please, calm down!'_ stopped her Justice with an almost desperate tone, given the suddenly stressed Suguha pause. _'Please, think about what you're saying, about everything that happened yesterday. It's a miracle you all didn't end up dead! And hell, in your state, it will probably take at least a couple weeks before you're fully healed…can you really blame them for deciding that leaving you behind was for the best?'_

"Bu-but…!"

 _'And tell me, how do you think the rest out there feels, being perfectly fine yet having to sit back here doing nothing too? Because let me tell you, the moment they fully understood where Kazuto was and that they couldn't all just rush in to save him, the tension was all crazy…the fact that only two of them could go was probably almost as hard as the thought of not doing anything at all.'_ informed Justice with an unusually bitter tone, which gave the vigilante pause as she realized 'something' that shocked her _. 'Be thankful we have been able to keep your 'secret identity' like that at all, it's probably the least of their concerns right now…finding and bringing him back is the priority.'_

"…Justice…are you actually worried for him?" asked Suguha with honest surprise, given the mental voice of her 'partner' pause.

After all, while she may have never called her out on that, it was no secret how obvious the dislike her bicycle/katana felt towards her beloved adopted brother/lover was.

 _'…I have spent the last days seeing you basically destroying yourself trying to find him. It made me realize how stupid I have been, every time I have wished him to go away and leave US alone.'_ softly accepted the bizarre being with a noticeable bitterness and regret in her tone. _'Of course I'm worried about him now…I just realized that your life would literally lose all meaning if you lost him. And if that ever happened, I would lose all meaning for my own too.'_

"Justice…"

 _'That's why…I really hope they find him safe and sound and bring him back as soon as possible. Please, you should have faith in the others to do that safely while you recover.'_ finished Justice with a heartfelt tone. _'And when he's back, I will even let him ride me around again! And only accidentally slam him against a wall a couple times!'_

"…thank you for being so understanding and reasonable for once, Just…wait, what did you say there at the end?" suddenly asked the youngest Kirigaya with narrowed eyes.

 _'…n-nothing at all, Master! You're hearing things because of how tired and hurt you are! No-now, why don't you go back to bed? Unless you want to deal with your mother's worries as she asks for an explanation, as she should be coming back to check on you soon…'_

Barely suppressing a worried/annoyed grunt, the vigilante acknowledged her partner's 'worried' advice and went back to her bed, though a small frown didn't quite disappear from her face as she drifted to sleep once again, the medicine and wounds in her body helping with that.

What didn't help, though, were the restless nightmares she had, where she saw her dearest one trapped in a thick darkness, held from all sides by never-ending Chains…

* * *

Seijirou Kikuoka had been having an ominous feeling the whole morning, yet he couldn't quite explain _why_ he did so.

It didn't really help that he hadn't gotten much sleep last night, what with the nightmares about unknown shadows emerging from the depths of the facility to kill them all while claiming for vengeance…

But what were clearly stress-induced problems aside, the bespectacled man's 'feeling' had only increased that morning after he did his secret, and slightly manic, ritual of staring at the burnt white cape they had recovered from the burning warehouse they had extracted the 'Equinox Cycle' from. Somehow, he had felt the thing oddly warm to the touch, as if it had tried to burn his hand for an instant, despite the ever-controlled temperature the insides of the Ocean Turtle was subjected to, necessary to keep the delicate machinery of the 'Project' safe.

And now, as he and Higa (The latter with an excited look on his face) waited for the helicopter that was carrying Koujiro Rinko to the core of their operations to land, the officer's foreboding feeling had only doubled so. Which shouldn't really be the case, as Koujiro was not only completely harmless despite her past relationship Kayaba Akihiko, she also was someone that could offer very useful insight on the Project now that it was reaching its final stage, and one of the last 'key' individuals he had dreamed could participate in and perfect it.

Even so, as he saw the woman and her two black-suited bodyguards descend from the aircraft, Kikuoka couldn't help but feel oddly worried (Why did a half-retired researcher like her need TWO bodyguards anyway? Maybe she was too paranoid since Kayaba forced her to help him? Sure, they had been cleared to carry no weapons or anything suspicious back on land, but…).

"Rinko-cha…san!" corrected himself Higa while walking forward to greet his former classmate with a smile. "It's been quite a long time! Welcome to the Ocean Turtle!"

"Takeru…is good to see you haven't changed at all in all this time." commented the woman with a resigned smile, before her eyes turned past her old acquaintance and towards the silent officer. "And it's great to finally meet you in person, Kikuoka…Seijirou…?"

"…yes, that's me. Lieutenant Colonel Kikuoka, at your service. And, as Higa already said, let me welcome you aboard, Koujiro-san." politely smiled the bespectacled man.

A moment later, he found himself very confused at the deadpanning look Rinko (And he could swear the bodyguards too despite the sunglasses) was giving him.

"…are you wearing a yukata and clogs while working on a facility in the middle of the ocean?" voiced the brunette girl with a disbelieving tone.

"Hmm? Yes?" replied Kikuoka while looking down at his blue and lighter kimono, wondering what was wrong with it. "I happen to find it more comfortable to work with it, and given we have living quarters here…"

 _"…unbelievable…"_ mumbled the blonde young woman while covering her face with her hand, in fluent English but clearly having understood the Japanese of the other perfectly, as if to prevent herself from doing something else…and was that the sound of teeth grinding together that was coming from the brunette one?

How odd…who were those two again? Oh yeah, Mayumi Reynolds and Takagaki Ayahi, simple bodyguards/assistants that had been hired by Professor Koujiro, one for quite some time and another a couple months ago. The fact that one of them happened to be half-American and the other was very new in the usually reclusive woman's 'circle' had raised a few eyebrows, but both had been checked and screened by their security systems before being given authorization to follow Rinko there, so there really shouldn't be anything wrong with them, so…

Why was their mere presence triggering his 'Oh Shit, run'-sense so much?

"A-anyway, I believe you had something to show me?!" hurriedly questioned Rinko while half-pushing a confused Higa forward, the extremely nervous smile on her face sending weird alarm bells on the bespectacled officer's head, even if he couldn't quite pinpoint why. "We wouldn't want to waste time here, right?! I bet whatever you're doing is too important for you to simply stand here greeting me!"

"That's…quite accurate, really. Follow us, please." conceded the taller man while starting to walk back into the facility, idly feeling two stares all but drilling into his back all the while.

On the way, a few questions arose from both the woman and her 'assistants', and both the extreme security (From checkpoints to repeated check-ups for weapons) they had to go through and the fact that the machines used a pressurized water nuclear reactor for electricity (Given the solar panels outside were mostly a 'front', not able to even provide 10% of the energy they needed) seemed to just put the females even more on edge.

Suffice to say, by the time they arrived at 'Area S3', the place where he had been guiding the group in the first place, Kikuoka Seijirou was more than aware that 'something' he wasn't privy to was going on, even if the enthusiastic Higa (That was very obviously trying to 'reconnect' with Rinko in a slightly-painful-to-see way) didn't seem to have done so.

Despite that, the bespectacled officer continued looking unfazed, plastering an enigmatic smile on his face as he turned towards the women and opened the door, the change in illumination clearly catching them off-guard and making the two in the back suddenly tense.

"Please, as redundant as it may sound, let me once again welcome you to the Ocean Turtle…and to the great work that's being developed here." spoke the tall man with an unusually passionate tone, purposefully walking forward into the light of the special room to blind those following him to his actions (And appear quite dramatic as he did so). "This is the greatest endeavor this country…no, perhaps mankind itself, has ever pursued. Behold…'Project Alicization'."

As they entered the room after him, all three newcomers seemed more than ready to demand what he was talking about…before they fell immediately silent upon witnessing what could be seen within the room.

Kikuoka couldn't really blame them, though. After all, the massive screens that filled almost an entire wall of it, in such a way that they gave the illusion of being 'windows', would be quite an unusual and surprising sight just by themselves.

The fact that a city with impossibly perfect and tall, white walls and a titanic white tower that rose to the heavens, filled with people wearing clothes fit for the middle ages, was visible through it, though? That probably did it even more.

And that without getting started on the humanoids beings, the Subterraneans, walking freely through the streets in patrolling squads or watching over the walls, which the people seemed to have no trouble with.

Truly, in a way, it could almost be compared to having entered a place where a completely different world could be watched from.

"What…what in the hell…?" mumbled the brunette while staring dumbly at the screen.

 _"Gods…what is this?"_ added the blonde, her English sounding quite strange in her stunned state.

"Higa-kun…Kikuoka-san…is this what you wanted to show me? Why you wanted me here for some time now?" questioned Rinko while taking a deep breath, wondering why she felt so overwhelmed by what she was seeing…and realizing it was because of how REAL the impossible landscape before her eyes was, from the laughs of children to the elders chatting on the street, even the bizarre sight of one of those humanoid 'monsters' helping a woman with an overly heavy sack. "What…is this?"

"The main goal we have been trying to achieve here in Rath, and that I'm glad to say we have almost fully completed at this point." proudly declared the bespectacled officer while a proudly smiling Higa walked past him and sat in a chair before the controls of the massive screens. "What you're watching right now is Centoria, the capital city of the 'Human Empire'. This 'world' you're witnessing…we call it 'Underworld'."

"…Underworld…Rath…I didn't take you for someone who was a fan of children's books from our previous long-distance conversations, Kikuoka-san." commented the former assistant of Kayaba Akihiko while crossing her arms, though it was clear her gaze was unable to move away from the strange yet seemingly peaceful visage of Centoria's streets.

"And I'm sure you know that 'Alice in Wonderland' wasn't exactly a kid-friendly tale when Lewis Carroll wrote it." retorted Kikuoka with a soft smile while walking across the room, like a teacher eagerly explaining something to a misguided student. "In fact, its original title, Alice's Adventures in Underground (Which can also be translated as 'Underworld' as you no doubt realize), was filled with many things that could be considered too bizarre or traumatizing for children in this day and age…"

"That's…a virtual world, isn't it?" questioned the brunette bodyguard with narrowed eyes, which the sunglasses just made even deeper, somehow.

"Yes and no. While Underworld's overall base localization and shape were created using 'The Seed' Tool for VRMMORPGs-creation, it can't really be called a simple virtual world because…"

"Okay, that's it. I can't keep up with this crap anymore." interrupted the blonde girl with a clearly annoyed tone, making Higa look at her in shock and Kikuoka to tense at how she had said that in perfect Japanese. "Where is Sen…Kazuto-kun, Kikuoka?!"

"And you better answer that fast, or we will get…violent."

As they said those words, the young woman that was supposed to be 'Mayumi Reynolds' took off the blonde wig that had been acting as her hair, also ditching her glasses and, in a motion that almost seemed painful, removing the contact glasses she had to make her eyes look a different color. Takagaki Ayahi did the same a second later.

Baffled, the two men stared as Yuuki Asuna and Shinozaki Rika glared at them with a mix of defiance and anger, Rinko having seemingly opted to walk to the side and mumble as she tried to keep all attention away from herself.

Several seconds of tense silence passed…before Higa Takeru groaned and let his face fall on his hands, almost losing his glasses in the process.

"See, Kiku-kun? This is why I told you hiring him back then may have been a bad idea…that boy is the biggest security risk of the entire Project." grumbled the laidback man while Kikuoka adjusted his glasses and looked at the two young women with something akin to amusement.

"Asuna-san, Lisbeth-san…I got to say, this is more than just a surprise. I mean, I knew your curious group was a bit 'enthusiastic' and you were all very devoted to Kirito…to Kirigaya-kun, but I didn't expect you would pull a stunt THIS crazy for him." spoke the bespectacled officer with a casual tone, as if his earlier surprise hadn't existed. "Can I ask how you even pulled it off, given the security screening we supposedly had in place was of the highest degree?"

"Swapping Mayumi Reynolds picture for a disguised one of me on their official files and doing the same for Liz with Takagaki Ayahi's was child's play. More of the same for making it seem as if Rinko-san over here had hired the former a couple months back when in reality they haven't even met." dryly explained Asuna while crossing her arms. "Let's say we have two very good 'friends' that can do such things without any effort."

"…I should have followed Mayumi-chan when she invited me to those vacations of hers. I wouldn't be here if I had." complained the female researcher with a resigned look.

"Thanks for your moral support, Rinko-san, we appreciate it greatly." sarcastically commented Rika before her glare returned at full force, aimed fiercely at the man in the yukata. "Explanations about the crazy secret stuff you're doing here can wait until after we have saved Kirito, so tell us where he is already!"

"…why should I? I don't know if you realize it, young ladies, but you two are the ones that have illegally infiltrated a High-Security secret facility of the government while pretending to be someone else. Not only do I not owe you any explanation, but I could also easily arrest all of you right now with quite the serious charges." as he spoke, Kikuoka seemed to gain confidence, even if he wondered why the two girls still looked unimpressed. "You both clearly didn't think this through at all: Even if I _did_ have Kirigaya-kun here, how were you planning on forcing anyone to release him, let alone get him out of here?"

Finishing the speech that he was sure would break through what he thought were just two 'children' way over their heads…a truly 'childish', yet terribly cold, voice answered the man.

"That 'plan' you speak of would be us, Chrysheight-san."

"…or should we say Lieutenant Colonel Kikuoka from the JGSDF? Do you perhaps prefer to be called that in reality, hmm?"

Slowly, the government officer turned around, to confirm what Higa had already done (Given he had turned around immediately).

That is, that the screens that had been showing the Underworld had 'changed', all of them now showing a white background and the full bodies of two girls, one young and innocent-looking in a black dress and the other tall and voluptuous, looking like an ALO Gnome Avatar.

He honestly didn't know what terrified him more, though, if Yui's cold and angry expression with her crossed arms, or Strea's empty and soul-chilling eyes as she looked at him and his co-worker as if they were bugs she wanted nothing more than to squish.

After all, Kikuoka had met with the two 'girls' a few times in Alfheim Online, and they were always either cheerful, happy or flirty (In the older-looking one's case). Granted, mostly towards the UHA…and Kirito.

Paling, the man reached for the device hidden in his yukata's pocket, pressing the button several times, but noticing that it didn't seem to release the 'beep' he was expecting at all.

"Don't bother, your personal alarm isn't gonna work. We disabled it." calmly explained Strea while her haunting expression never wavered actually making Higa whimper at the sound.

"And the security lock for this room's door is blocked right now, plus the security cameras are showing a loop of you showing this 'Underworld' place to Rinko-san, Asuna-mama, and Liz-mama. The lack of audio recording you have all around for 'security purposes' is appreciated, though, that would have been annoying to deal with." commented Yui while floating forward until her face covered most of the massive screens, reinforcing the feeling of being small insects for the two men in charge of Project Alicization. "Technology can be quite inconvenient when you become over-reliant of it, can't it? As of this moment, we have total control over 90% of the Ocean Turtle's systems."

"Ho…how?" asked the man with a diminutive voice.

For an answer, Asuna took out an inconspicuous-looking digital tablet from her pocket, showing the device and the strange screen filled with code and strange combinations of data to the two men.

"Funny, how all that security makes sure we don't carry weapons here, but smuggling something as simple as this for 'work purposes' goes over all those guards and security men's heads. After all, what would I carry in something like this?" rhetorically asked the chestnut-haired girl while walking up to the bespectacled officer, glaring up at him with a vindictive smile. "Certainly not a program to let two highly advanced AIs hack through this place's network and take over its systems, right?"

"Forget about how we outsmarted these idiots and their stupidly un-secret secret facility, Asuna, something Yui-chan said bothered me." spoke the virtual blacksmith while looking at their 'daughter' with a frown. "Only 90% of the systems?"

"…yes. We have tried, but for some reason, there is no way for us to take control over the mainframe where this 'Project Alicization' takes place." growled a frustrated Strea in the background, her 'big sister' stepping away from the screen to let them see her glaring at several holo-screens. "The difference in security compared to everything else is absurd. It's almost as if…as if it was…oh Gods…Cardinal."

"What?!" shouted every female in the room upon hearing the AI's words, even Rinko seeming shocked while a wide-eyed Yui all but flew past her frozen little sister to operate the holo-screens.

"…it's…it's true. There is a fully functional and active copy of the Cardinal System controlling this 'Underworld', and all the systems and machines connected directly to it are under its protection, so we can't hack into them…" mumbled the MHCP-001 with a numb tone, before her gaze slowly turned back towards the nervous Kikuoka. "Most of the files are encrypted under this, which is clever, but enough are out of your Cardinal's direct grasp for me to get the big picture…just what in Heaven's name were you trying to do here?"

"…making a safer tomorrow for the country." simply replied the man with an even tone.

"By turning sentient beings into weapons?!" snarled Strea from where she was shaking, and as she turned to glare at them the bespectacled officer could have sworn that her eyes held nothing but Darkness for a single instant.

"…what the hell is she talking about, Kikuoka?" demanded Rinko with a suddenly very cold tone, but the man refused to answer or met her gaze, so she quickly turned towards the one with whitened-blond hair, who seemed to wilt under her glare. "Takeru."

"W-we…we wanted to keep people safe. Project Alicization's main goal was…to develop 'True Artificial Intelligence', AI that couldn't be compromised by the enemy and that would be able to operate weapons without any risk the modern ones could, one that couldn't be hacked or stopped in any digital way until it had accomplished its mission." mumbled the man while suddenly looking older than he was, the glares now directed at him and his co-worker's silent stare for him to be silent only making him look even worse. "Of course, it sounded like a pipe dream…except that it wasn't, at least not after I showed Kiku-kun the designs for the Soul Translator…"

"…a machine that can read the very 'soul' of a human being. The 'Fluctlight'." mumbled Rika while remembering the words Kazuto had shared with them that fateful night everything went wrong. "Capable of creating a 'virtual world' so perfect it's indistinguishable from reality…"

"But wait…how does that relate with making 'True AIs'?" questioned Asuna with a thoughtful look, only to pale after an answer hit her like a truck, also coming from the theories the boy she loved had shared with everyone that night. "Unless…no…you didn't!"

"With that technology, well…cloning a Fluctlight is very easy, you know?" answered Higa the unasked question with a simple shrug, as if he was talking of something simple and unimportant. "Effectively creating 'Artificial Fluctlights'…fake souls, if you wanna to put it in simpler terms."

Silence fell once again upon the room, even as everyone tried to process what they were told, the minds of the UHA members present especially having a hard time coming to grips with the, in their eyes, terrible truth of it all. Especially when they remembered the 'scene' they had seen earlier, of that bizarre world filled with people living lives while seeming like any other person would…

"…you cloned the souls of newborns, then raised then within that world, didn't you? You used the Fluctlight Acceleration mechanic papa mentioned so that it was not only possible but very viable." for once, Yui's tone sounded…extremely 'inhuman', like one would expect from a machine instead of someone that had always sounded very human, her gaze seemingly lost in the data she was reading. "That's how you created your 'Artificial Fluctlights'…"

"Wait…that makes no sense. Kirito said that thing could only accelerate your time-perception 5 times, it wouldn't be enough to…raise children from…" trailing off, Rika came to the obvious conclusion, her eyes once again growing cold as she looked towards the silent man in charge of the project. "You lied to him, didn't you?"

"…we had to, as Kirigaya-kun was not authorized to know…well, anything about the true purpose of the project, and that included the STL's true limits and how much it could stimulate the brain's capacity to process information to 'accelerate'." sighed Kikuoka while rubbing his glasses with a tired expression. "Before you ask…the true extent of it allows someone to accelerate up to 3000 times. If pushed to the maximum, though, it can go up to around 5000."

"…how long did you really have Sensei inside there when he worked for you?!" screamed Asuna while grabbing the man by the yukata, making him tense and feel the need to use his basic military training to incapacitate her, the look in her eyes terrifying him. "HOW LONG?!"

"Almost eleven years!" shouted Higa while grabbing the chestnut-haired girl's side, her gaze shooting to him as she let go of Kikuoka, nothing but horrified shock in her gaze as she looked at him. "We…we needed to test if the Fluctlights could truly interact with real humans in a realistic environment that didn't have outside interference, s-so we sealed his memories and put him in the body of a child that…!"

The blond man certainly wasn't expecting for someone to painfully kick his back, though, and send him sprawling into the floor. Scared, he turned around in time to see Rinko restraining an enraged Rika, the girl seemed like a bull out of control, causing the older woman to struggle to keep her in place.

"You bastards! Not only did you trick him knowing he would have never approved of this, but you also made him live an entirely new life and then stole it from him?!" screamed the virtual blacksmith as angry tears filled her eyes. "Let me go! I will fucking k…!"

"Liz. Stop." silenced her Asuna with a calm tone, drawing everyone's attention back to her, the second-in-command of the United Heroes Association turning to stare emptily at Kikuoka. "There was something 'wrong' with that underworld of yours we just saw, something that clearly didn't figure into your original plans from what I just heard. What happened? And how did it involve Kirito-kun?"

"…the Fluctlights…they were advanced, but they couldn't be the 'True AIs' we were aiming to create if they couldn't break their limitations. If they couldn't really be 'human'…and besides our flaws, which they easily share, humanity's greatest ability, the one we were looking for, was that of going against what the world told them to do. Free Will, so to speak, to violate any rule." explained the tall man while clenching his fists, as if challenging the girl with his gaze. "So we raised them with a determined set of 'virtues' and 'rules' that they would hold close and teach to their offspring, a 'moral compass' engraved deep within them, hoping some would break it and prove they were ready for our purposes. Problem is, after hundreds of years, none had done so. Hell, they even created a 'Church', a completely unopposed religion, that enforced even harsher and more controlling rules than we originally limited them by! It seemed the Project was just gonna be a failure…so we changed the Status Quo."

"…you changed the very world…somehow." muttered Strea from where she was now sitting on the virtual floor visible through the screens. "You used…something that would make the balance of their world break, and _force_ them to adapt. But…you didn't make it, you…brought it from somewhere and…ugh! The rest is under Cardinal's encryption?!"

"Ye-yes…suffice to say, we found a way to do it. We gave the Underworld's Inhabitants…'gifts' mankind was never meant to have, and, unlike the ones their world already had, these broke all balances and limitations seen before: They could manifest in anyone, regardless of how they were born or raised, of how much training or Authority they possessed." mumbled Higa while standing up, looking slightly pained but still more than capable of walking. "With time, with the influence of their 'Axiom Church', they started to call them 'Gifts' and 'Curses'…just like the System in charge of managing them had classified them as."

"…oh Gods…those things in the city's streets…I knew I had seen them before! They appeared in…in One Punch-Man!" suddenly shouted a shocked Rika, before looking at the two men as if they were crazy. "You…you forcefully gave the people powers from characters of that specific series, of all things?! How?! WHY?!"

"…because it already had proven that it could make AIs break their limitations." slowly, Yui turned around, tears in her virtual eyes, something deep and wrathful shining within them as she bit her lips. "You should know it well, Liz-mama…you and everyone fought against those examples. Ended them…"

"…Ragnarok. Your sisters…Equinox." whispered Asuna while closing her eyes, shaking as she took deep breaths and turned to look at the men again, this time not seeming at all like a young woman, but as something much more terrifying, much more respect-inducing. "Do you have any idea of what you were hoping to recreate? Of the nightmare that the War of Ragnarok was?"

She didn't raise her voice. There were no threats or screams in her tone.

She didn't need them. After all, the sheer presence of the 'Mighty Flash', she who always stood beside the 'One Punch-Gamer' since Aincrad's very first Floor, was enough to make even seasoned warriors falter and shake.

And despite that supposedly having no way outside the virtual world, outside 'games' most people didn't take seriously, Kikuoka Seijirou felt it on every inch of his body, as if there was suddenly a half-human shadow standing before him, with a body of steel and two blades pointed at him…

"…it was necessary…for the Project's sake…and it worked. Suddenly, we had Fluctlights breaking beyond their 'restraints' all around! Because…it was either that or dying…or fading away." groaned the officer while trying to fight against the 'illusion' his vision was casting over the harmless girl before him, reminding himself that he was more than able to subdue her without a problem if the need arose. "Kirigaya-kun had, indirectly, gave us the answer we needed…i-it was…only natural we would invite him to help with the last test that required direct human interaction, even if he didn't know it at…"

"Stop. Just…shut the hell up. Right now." demanded Asuna while looking past Kikuoka, her nails digging into her palms so hard they seemed about to draw blood. "Yui-chan, Strea…have you found Sensei? Do you know where he is?"

"…Papa is in a room not far from where you are right now. He is…he's in bad condition and…he's currently Logged Inside the Underworld from the Soul Translator Unit 003." muttered Yui while staring at the data with fear. "No…"

"…why is he in there?" somberly asked Rika, though it seemed she already knew the answer and was just too scared to think about it.

"…brain damage. It…happened because his heart was stopped for too long after he was injected with the 'Death Gun'." explained Strea while reading the data, seeming about to choke in the tears that were falling from her eyes. "They…are using the STL to keep his Fluctlight intact while they try to restore his brain. That's…that's why he is here…"

"You…you violated what's probably national secrecy law, while doing something that's probably so morally questionable it would cause a disaster if it leaked, after going through all this effort to keep it hidden…just for a boy that had helped you out?" asked Rinko with utter astonishment, looking at the man as if he was mad.

And from everything she had heard, a part of her honestly thought…that maybe he was, even if just a little.

"That boy has helped me out way more than he knows. Thanks to him, Alicization is more than a reality." replied the bespectacled officer with a mirthless smile. "The least I could do was try to save his life when no one else in the country would have been able to, don't you think?"

"I said shut up." repeated Asuna with a snarl, her breathing having quickened as she turned around and walked towards the turn. "Yui-chan, Strea, keep an eye on the security, monitor anyone outside this room that could try and get in our way. You two, move and guide us to where Sen…to where Kazuto-kun is. Now."

"You think that you can judge me right now from the moral high ground, right, Yuuki-san? That you're the 'Hero' and I the 'Villain' of this story? Well, I'm sorry to tell you that this world isn't black and white like that. This isn't a VRMMO, here you're just a girl lucky enough to have these two backing you up." spoke Kikuoka while glaring at the girl's back. "My work here is for the sake of this country, to make sure no more people have to die pointlessly in wars by improving Japan's military capacity, and as ugly as that may seem in your eyes, it's necessary to…!"

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!" screamed the chestnut-haired girl while spinning around and, moving faster than any girl her age should be able to, grabbed the officer by the neck and slammed him against the wall, shocking everyone. "You don't know…how much I'm restraining myself from hurting you right now, Kikuoka…so be careful with your next words when you talk about turning innocent people into weapons before me or…"

"It was for a good cause!" interrupted Higa by doing the bravest, or stupidest, thing he had ever done in his boss' eyes, moving to grab the girl's back and try to drag her away from him. "Do you know how many people die in a war, Yuuki-san?! With the Fluctlights, we will never again have to…!"

"And what about them?! What of THEIR lives, Higa-san?!" roared the one known as the Might Flash in the virtual world while turning around, pushing the other man back like one would swat a fly, terrifying him when, for a moment, he could have sworn that her eyes had changed, the sclera turning black and her pupils golden. "You gave them souls, a world, _lives of their own_! There were children and women there, people laughing and walking through the streets! You think that you're better than them just because they don't have flesh and blood bodies like you?! You think that gives you the right to use them as glorified weapons?!"

For a moment, Kikuoka felt IT as he started to choke under the girl's surprisingly strong grip, his attempts to remove her hand, to push her away, failing utterly, because…

For an instant, in which the world seemed to go 'wrong', the girl's hands were made of jet-black steel, unyielding and undeniable, slowly crushing his neck with no effort…

"What the..?!"

"Over my dead body." finished Asuna with a groan as she turned around, her empty hand grasping something that had materialized on it and stabbing forward.

A scream cut through the room and the bespectacled man froze, sure that he was dead, before gasping and coughing at realizing he could talk again, falling to his knees and quickly staring up in shock.

Yuuki Asuna took a couple of steps back, holding her head in clear pain, trying to understand what had just happened, why she suddenly felt as if the last seconds were extremely blurry…

 **"[Time is running out…Reality's limits are broken…hurry up…]"**

On the back of the young woman's mind, something cracked further, changing her perception of the World even further. Meanwhile, as she started panting, the gazes of all the 'adults' in the room moved towards the wall where Kikuoka had been pressed against moments before.

Stabbed there up to almost a quarter of its blade, a jet-black sword stood, the weapon having come from seemingly nowhere.

"Asuna!" shouted Rika once she recovered from her stupor, shooting to her friend's side and helping her steady herself. "A-are you okay?! Wha-what you just did…it was…and your…sword…"

"I'm…I'm okay. Just…fine." mumbled the Yuuki Heiress while staring down at her hands, trembling slightly and trying to shake the haze filling her mind.

For some reason, the fact that her hands were still made of normal flesh seemed to calm her down as she took a deep breath once again.

"…Asuna-mama…just now, whatever happened to you, all the cameras in the room glitched at the same time when it did." spoke Yui with an unusually serious tone, Strea nodding silently at her side with an equally unusual look in her face, even as Rinko looked from the aforementioned girl to the younger-looking AIs.

What had happened just now…and what happened back at her house the night before…was it possible both of those were somehow connected?

Just what in Hell's name was going on around these children? Was…was this what Kayaba had found so fascinating in them, so long ago…?

"…how did you even…make that sword appe…?"

"It doesn't matter. We have…gotten too sidetracked. Right now…just…take us where Kirito-kun is." all but demanded Asuna while interrupting Higa, her eyes once again firm as her brown-haired friend let go of her. "We will…worry about all of this mess after that."

"…just like that? You're just going to…basically force yourselves above our authority and expect us to cooperate?" dryly questioned Kikuoka while glaring at the virtual Dual Wielder, though it was obvious the earlier resistance had all but evaporated from his gaze, replaced by something else.

Fear…

"We're the ones still in control of most of your facility thanks to our two virtual friends over there, that right now I like to consider more as people than either of you." was all that the chestnut-haired girl had to say before turning around, heading for the door's room while the sound of it being unlocked echoed within. "And if you're thinking of trying to run or scream just to try and get us out of the way before we can check if Sensei is okay with our own eyes…believe me, what Yui and Strea do to your facility will be the least of your problems."

"That sounds suspiciously like a threa…"

For the umpteenth time in the last minutes, Higa was violently interrupted, though this time it was by the unnatural sound of a blade snapping out of the wall and shooting hilt-first through the air, the screaming man barely dodging it as Asuna raised her left hand and easily caught it, as if there had been a magnet guiding it there all along.

The fact that it sounded for a moment as if metal had hit metal instead of flesh was more than a bit scary, especially as no one could tell if it had been just their imaginations or not.

From her part, the dual wielder stared at the black sword in her hands, as if pondering something.

Then, with a shrug, she let Elucidator _vanish_ , the blade somehow seeming to sink within her arm as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Rinko and Higa choked on air, staring at the girl's arm with shock and fear. Kikuoka's breath stopped for an instant, a thousand curses crossed his terrified mind.

Rika blinked, then shrugged, accepting what she had just seen with seemingly no problem, even as Asuna turned around and looked back to the two men one last time.

"It didn't 'sound' like it. It was a threat. Right now, I don't care if I end up in prison or if anyone in this damn turtle tries to kill me for what I'm doing…I'm getting Sensei back. For me, for Liz, for Sugu-chan…for everyone back home. So stop wasting time and let's move. Yui-chan, are you still in a direct link with Yuuki?"

"…hai. Yuuki-mama is still waiting in ALO for us to contact her, and she has the control Interface for the Skidbladnir ready so she can immediately Update everyone at the hospital of our status."

"Then tell her a summary of what happened here as we move…and that Sensei…Kirito-kun is just within our reach now."

Even as she felt the two AIs vanishing from the screens from the room, even as the brown-haired girl quickly ran after her friend, even as she saw the two men exchange an unreadable stare and follow after them…Koujiro Rinko realized something.

No matter how that crazy situation ended, the researcher was sure that, when everything was said and done…something would have been changed in a way that would be felt for the entire world. As insane as that sounded.

Unseen, even as Rinko followed the group, the Grip of the Chains over Reality tightened…

* * *

The Sea of Japan was quite a beautiful sight. Especially under the water's surface.

It was quite an ironic thought, and certainly one that he hadn't expected to have years ago, but then again, Vassago Casals had learned that this world was not only filled with unexpected things, it was also way crazier than anyone thought.

A growling sound coming from the shadows of the cabin he was sitting at that moment kind of proved his point, the half-American's gaze fixed on the imposing form seeming to lurk in the darkness itself, nothing but the two soulless red maws of red that it had for eyes being visible at all…

"Something wrong, Xaxa? You have been unusually silent most of the 'trip', you know?"

"Well, can you really blame him, boss? We're in a freaking submarine! Never mind the fact that we were picked up from a remote beach in the middle of nowhere (Where we even had to go several hundred meters into the sea using a shitty boat before that) and now are on the way to a super-secret facility in order to steal something for our mysterious and shady benefactors." reminded Kanamoto Atsuchi with a snort, though there was no denying the amused grin in his face. "Even for us, this goes well beyond the realm of 'nuts'."

"Maybe so, Johnny, but that's when you need to remember what our dear friend here is now. With him, those idiots won't know what hit them." chuckled the man that had been known within Aincrad as the Prince of Hell before idly pulling something from under his clothes. "In more way than one, I'm sure."

In his hands, the simple-looking butcher knife seemed to glow ominously.

"Okay, if you say so, boss…" mumbled the virtual poison-user while leaning with his back against a metallic wall. "So…how exactly are we doing this? I mean, don't' get me wrong, I'm all for the 'Guns blazing as we start murdering everyone'-plan, but somehow I feel that's not really going to work out too well for us if this place is as secure as everything so far makes it seem, and I would rather not die a pointless death after all this time trying to keep myself alive…"

"Don't worry about that, Johnny. Apparently, our good friends have a 'mole' inside this fancy place. He's going to be our ticket in and out as we secure the 'merch' they want us to get." explained Vassago while playing with his knife in a way that no one that didn't want to lose a finger would. "Then, we sick Xaxa on them and while he's wreaking havoc and everyone is acting like headless chickens because a 'monster' is attacking them, we get the stuff and get the hell out. Hell, if you want you can stay behind covering our escape route…"

"Yeah, as much as it makes me sound like a coward, I think I will take you up on that offer. I already got beat up more than enough this week…" mumbled Atsuchi while rubbing his face in phantom pain, letting a small smirk appear on his unkempt face. "Heh, at least I got that Kirito bastard for my troubles…and before any of you starts with the 'He's still alive because Xaxa says so', I want you to know I still think that's complete bull…!"

 **"PoH."** suddenly interrupted the unnatural voice of Xaxa, talking for the first time since he had come back to them the night before.

Immediately, the attention of both 'human' former Laughing Coffin members snapped towards the unnatural darkness within the submarine's cabin. Slowly, as if he was dragging himself from an actual different plane of existence than them, the creature's sinister form emerged, the ragged and dirty cloak he wore somehow enhancing his aberrant nature instead of making it look more 'real'.

Vassago wasn't sure what happened last night, but when the being that had once been Shinkawa Shouichi had arrived 'injured' he had been quite surprised.

Not as much as how it had quickly become apparent their 'friend's bizarre 'transformation' wasn't quite done with him yet, as the wounds had closed and the 'growths' around him had extended and hardened, in a way that Xaxa now truly seemed to be encased in a suit of greyish and creepy bone, and not suffering any of the problems a human would for such a thing.

Also, if his 'estoc-arm' wasn't terrifying enough before, that now it had 'teeth' growing all over one side of its blade certainly added a new level of Nightmare Fuel to him. Never mind that the bone encasing his, until then, 'normal' hand had apparently decided that growing needle-like claws over his fingers was a good idea.

Between that and his now truly skeletal face with its two glowing red eyes eternally shining with demented purpose from within, the creature now seemed, at first glance, way more terrifying than when he had been 'Death Gun' in Gun Gale Online, even if nowhere near as powerful…for now.

The one once known as Prince of Hell had no idea how much 'stronger' that 'power' of his could make him, after all…

"Yes, Xaxa?" finally answered the half-American man with a tilt of his head, looking completely unaffected by the monster's unnatural existence.

 **"He is…there…"** declared Xaxa while his gaze turned towards a specific direction, seemingly just one of the submarine's walls.

"What?" asked a clearly confused Atsuchi, just before the vessel's communication system informed them, with a clearly distorted voice, that they would arrive at their destination soon and they would have to wait a few hours for the 'signal' to get in, the submarine starting to change orientation in response.

In the same direction the red-eyed creature had just pointed towards.

 **"Kirito…is here."** declared the Mysterious Being with utter certainty, something akin to animal eagerness seeping into its inhuman tone, even as the other two's eyes widened. **"I can…feel him…"**

"Wha…?! Are you kidding me?!" shouted the arguably sanest of the three psychos present as he stood up, looking clearly agitated. "That he survived is one thing, but to also be in this fucking super-secret place we're going to?! Isn't that just utter cosmic coincidence bullshit or something?!"

"Heh…it most certainly is, Johnny." chuckled Vassago with a suddenly very sinister smile, one that seemed to unsettle even Xaxa, if the way in which he slowly retreated into the shadows was anything to go by, as if there was something even more inhuman than him within it. "But…isn't this a nice surprise, all things considered? We get two birds with one stone: Accomplish our objective for 'freedom'…and end that annoying Hero's life once and for all."

 **"…he must die…"** whispered the red-eyed monster in agreement, even as Atsuchi groaned and sat down again.

"Fine! If that stupid kid is actually alive, we're finishing him for good…and this time, no amount of stupid luck or his annoying girlfriends are going to save him…"

As if to make a point of his words, the unkempt man reached for something under his seat and brought it out, the case opening without effort as if he had practice doing so.

Within, a couple of handguns could be seen, but they were ignored in favor of the sharp pocket knife on the middle, several bottles filled with a deadly-looking liquid surrounding it and a special sheath for it on its side. Just as the 'poisoner' had asked for.

And as he saw his 'secret weapon' seething for the blood of their most hated foe in the darkness and his other remaining 'subordinate' carefully preparing his infamous 'poisoned knife', the man known as Vassago Casals, feared once as the villain 'PoH', couldn't help but chuckle darkly once again, something truly Dark shining within his eyes for a moment.

Two simple words in perfect English, so characteristic of him, exited his lips, filling the very air with ill intent.

" _It's showtime._ "

At that moment, back once again in Tokyo, Kirigaya Suguha woke up from a nightmare, cold sweat covering her body while her gaze shot towards the closest window, noticing the sun was high in the sky and slowly starting to move towards the horizon.

Nothing had seemingly changed within the hospital room, except perhaps a few small things nurses may have moved from one place to another.

Argo…Shiori, that is, was still sleeping, no sign of having woken up at any moment at all shown in the info broker. The young kendoka, however, noticed that the pain she felt earlier had vanished completely, just as the dizziness and sleepiness in her had done.

None of that mattered for her at that moment, though. Not with all the sinister things she had seen in her nightmares.

Chains and figures in armor surrounding her brother's defeated form. Hooded shadows with red eyes, knives and something worse looming over his unmoving body…

It didn't matter that it made no sense. In that single moment, as she stood up from her bed and started to take out the bandages and other similar medical aids covering her body, the most famous vigilante of Japan (And how weird did that sound for someone like her, didn't it?) just knew one thing for sure.

Kazuto was in terrible danger. He needed her…more than ever.

 _'…master? Are you awa…? What are you doing?!'_

"There is no time, Justice. Onii-chan is in trouble." firmly declared Suguha while looking around the room for her clothes, relieved to find them in a pile near her bed with what looked like a fresh set of underwear she was pretty sure her mother had brought her at some point. "We need to help him."

 _'Wha…?! But, how do you know that?! You have been sleeping all this time! A-and, everyone is…you're still hu…!'_

"Justice…how can you explain our bond?" upon receiving no answer, even as she finished undressing from the hospital gown and changed into her usual attire, the young kendoka smiled. "Well, in that same way, my bond with Onii-chan can't be put into words. I just… _know_ he needs me, and I will be dammed if I stay in bed like a sick person while he's in danger!"

 _'…geeze, now I feel that my earlier words were for nothing…but, whatever you're feeling, whatever changed, I can…feel it too, through our link. Your concern, your determination…they're real as me, Suguha-sama.'_ softly acknowledged the bicycle 'spirit' with a mental sigh, before it impossibly shook within the dark alley it was hidden in. _'What can I do to help?'_

"…is everyone still outside? And…do you have my costume with you?"

 _'No to the first one, some of them had to go back home after contacting their families again a few hours back, but I think Philia and Keita are still there…and yes, Sinon hid it in a bag that she left with me last night.'_

"Okay…then, first thing is getting out of here and contacting everyone without being discovered." nodded the one known as the Bicycle Girl with conviction, her eyes straying for a moment towards Shiori's sleeping form. "Something tells me that…this isn't going to be like anything we went through before. That this will be…the most dangerous thing we have gotten into. That's why…Justice?"

 _'…yes, Master?'_

"One last time, please…give me Wings."

Within the darkened alleyway, a certain bicycle shone softly, before, slowly, righting itself in an impossible way, its bell ringing wildly as if it was possessed.

 _'…as you wish!'_

"Good." smiled Suguha before taking a deep breath. "Now, we just need to…!"

"Hey, Leafa-chi…going somewhere?"

Shocked, the young kendoka's eyes shot towards the other side of the room, unable to believe what she just heard.

And yet, standing there, the other girl present finished tearing off the medical patches in her cheeks with a small wince.

Her ruined hands were 'fine' once again, though…or, at least, as fine as they would with the metallic-looking plates and claws that had grown above them and her knuckles from seemingly nowhere, though.

Ignoring her friend's shocked look, though, the possessor of the Berserk Unique Skill touched her cheeks, idly touching the rough, if surprisingly fine-looking, whisker-like marks that now permanently adorned her face.

Letting a smile appear on her face, Izawa Shiori turned towards Kirigaya Suguha, letting her 'claws' fold upon themselves and shrink until they seemingly disappeared on the back of her palms.

"If so, mind if I tag along? I really want to find Kii-bou too."

 **"[Reality collapses…the Impossible is now within the Realm of Possibility…]"**

Unseen, a countdown for the End of All Things slowly reached its inevitable end…

* * *

With a tired sigh, Eugeo walked down the hallway, idly returning the greetings some of the other 'inhabitants' of that dark but comforting place offered him as he headed back to his room.

Another day, another effort that went into seemingly meaningless things. Sure, helping the others train wasn't exactly a waste of time, neither was it keeping himself sharp (He supposed), but…what purpose did it all really have, if he couldn't bring himself to keep going? If he had no drive?

If he kept like that…he would never get out of there. He would never find Alice…let alone save her.

And all that had to happen for him to feel like that would also fail the one who had even given him such drive in the first pla…

The undead's depressed thoughts were quickly interrupted upon entering his room, finding someone he wasn't expecting sitting on his bed, her eyes fixed on a small and worn-out notebook in her hands.

"…Selka?"

"Ah…Eugeo, finally, I was wondering when you would get here." kindly spoke the 13-and-a-half-year-old (Did she even remember her birthday had passed without her notice, he wondered?) as she stood up and gave him a worried smile. "I wanted to talk with you about something…"

"Okay…but…is that the notebook you told me about?" questioned the green-eyed boy while leaving his weapons aside and eyeing one of the few possessions the tea-haired girl had brought with her from Rulid.

"Yes…I have been noting down most of my dreams and visions in here since some time after I started having them." commented the Seer while looking through the pages, a mix of sadness and nostalgia showing in her eyes as she did so. "It's almost funny now, to think back to when I was scared and always so secretive about this…I have lost count of the times I have willingly and actively used my Gift since we got here…"

"Be sure to not push yourself, though. As useful as your powers may be for everyone here, if you feel they're demanding too much…"

"I'm not a child anymore, Eugeo. I know what my limits are, and I was the one who offered my powers to help out in the first place." Selka reminded with a firm look, making Eugeo realize the little girl that used to follow helplessly behind him and Alice had been forced to grow up way too fast. "They have never forced me to do anything."

"I know; it's just…I can't help but worry, you know? You're probably…the closest thing to family I still have left." whispered the undead with a bittersweet face, making the young girl look at him with worry. "If I failed you too, I would never forgive…"

"Eugeo, stop. Please." pleaded the seer while walking to his side and tightly gripping the cold hand of the closest thing she had ever had to an older brother. "You didn't fail Onee-chan…you were just a helpless child, and yet you defied an Integrity Knight and risked your life for her, which is more than anyone in all of Rulid did ten times over. And you didn't fail Kirito…he risked himself to let us escape. If anything, all of us failed him…but we can make it right."

"Selka…" muttered Eugeo while closing his eyes. "You know very well that Kirito is most likely…"

"He's fine. I know it. They just…took him away, somewhere where even I can't see him!" declared Selka with fervor while looking up with hope in her eyes. "And I'm sure we will find him in time! E-even if the only things I see when I try to look for him with my Gift are…"

"Chains. Never-ending chains, yes, Tiese said you mentioned it…" mumbled the undead while his eyes moved over the room, narrowing slightly upon noticing something on the half-open notebook left there. "Wait…Selka?"

"Yes?"

"Is it me or…your notebook is missing some pages?" asked the green-eyed boy while seeing the irregular edge within the small item.

"Ah…yes, a couple of them. I only realized it when we were at Zakkaria already so I didn't bring it up at all." sheepishly confessed the tea-haired girl while going back to her pseudo-diary and looking at the space where pages were missing. "It's weird, because, obviously, no one knew about this thing, but I realize that I could have accidentally ripped and missed them when I was packing things to escape Rulid that night…"

"Just out of curiosity…what was in those pages?"

"I…I can't really remember it, now that say it." muttered the Seer with a small frown, suddenly looking down at the notebook with confusion. "Then again, the other pages show this is from over 7 years back, so I guess it's no surprise…"

"Over…7 years…?" suddenly, Eugeo was feeling a weird headache as he mumbled those words, as if there was something…

 _A_ [ **Empty Shadow]** _in black and white doing push-ups while smiling happily at him and the little blonde-haired girl._

…he was supposed to remember.

But, as much as he tried, nothing came to mind. Maybe it was just the stress of everything finally getting to…?

"Eugeo-san!" shouted a voice from the hallway before the door was all but swung open, the bizarre visage of a…humanoid mouse standing there, looking out of breath. "Ah…and Selka-san too, that's good!"

"Eh? What's wrong, Kuhn-san? We were trying to talk about…"

"It's your friend! The one you kept talking about!" the mouse-man's words managed to freeze both 'Gifted', their eyes wide as suddenly everything but his words stopped mattering. "One of our scouts managed to overhear a Subterranean patrol talking about a weird boy with a cape they apparently had managed to apprehend in that rumored prison somewhere around the…!"

Immediately, the Cursed boy squeaked, having been all but pushed aside by Eugeo as he rushed out of the room faster than he ever had, heading in a very specific direction, his axe and sword coming alive and flying after him to his waiting hands, not injuring any passerby by miracle.

Selka barely even slowed down to say a hasty 'Sorry!' to the mouse-man as she ran after her friend, which, given the girl's usual kind and caring nature, showed just how much urgency there was in their sprint.

On the destination both fugitives were heading towards…three people sat in a dark room, an old table between them filled with rough-looking documents and a massive map of Eastabarieth on the middle. One of them, the less friendly-looking of the 3, was looking at the report one of their scout's latest report with a frown.

"…dangerous." softly muttered the largest of them, who seemed to have an impressive build and…a horn?

"…they're going to come and ask us for this, aren't they?" he growled, softly letting the… _Gatling gun_ he had instead of an arm rest on the table, looking both tired and annoyed. "They no doubt will, despite how stupid it is…"

"Why stupid, Uolo? They just want their friend back." spoke the least impressive-looking of the three clear 'leaders', though her words seemed to carry a weight that made the other two look at her with respect and wariness. "And if he's half as amazing as the two of them continue saying, he may be a great asset to have with us."

"We can't risk people for a single person, much less an unknown whose abilities aren't fully understood even by his so-called friends!" retorted the tall young man with cold logic. "We're barely recovering enough thanks to the help of young Zuberg and the firepower the other three have brought us! It has helped with obtaining supplies, but it's not enough! Trying to raid that 'prison' is something we don't have people to spare for, let alone risk losing any of them!"

"…then I will go with them." declared the voice softly once again while standing up, navy blue, almost purple, eyes opening to gaze at her two shocked companions. "That way they will have enough power to get him back, we won't risk anyone unnecessarily, and I can ensure they all come back safe and sound."

"…very dangerous."

"Yes, just like Gorgolosso says! Are you crazy, Liena?! Out of everyone here, you're the one we can LEAST afford to lose! You're the only reason we're all alive and here in the first place, we can't have you risking your life for…!"

"I risk my very 'Life' every time I fight, Uolo." interrupted him the young woman while turning to give him a stern look, her ponytail of dark brown hair seeming to sway in some unnatural breeze for a moment as she did so. "Never forget that. This time, though…I guess you could say I'm a bit curious, too."

"…curious?"

"Yes, Gorg. Think about it: These guys are absurdly strong, hell, that Eugeo boy is probably stronger than any of us, just lacks the necessary skill to back it up, and Ronye-chan could literally vaporize us! Although she used to be scared of almost everything…yet, they have been changing these last months. Pushing themselves forward." spoke the determined girl as she walked towards a small table close to the wall, grabbing what seemed like a very particular flower trapped inside a piece of crystal, staring at it with fondness. "From the near-corpses that I brought here all those months ago to what they are now…all just because of the _possibility_ of this boy maybe being alive."

"And…what's your point?" questioned Uolo with furrowed eyes.

"That I want to meet someone able to inspire such loyalty…such _hope_ that it can make people change like that." declared the young woman before reaching for a pair of weapons hanging from the wall. "Besides…all four said he called himself a 'Hero', right?"

A whip and a blade were tightly gripped in her hands as she finished her sentence, before being calmly hung from her waist.

"…I want to see. The difference between the 'Hero' that he is…and the one you all see in 'me'."

"…stay safe, Sortiliena." finally declared Gorgolosso with clear resignation, even as Uolo sighed in frustration.

"I will. Please, both of you make sure to keep everyone safe until I'm back, okay?" not even waiting for an answer (already hearing the hurried footsteps of certain people coming), the one called Sortiliena turned around, letting her hand move over her waist.

From one moment to the next, a bizarre-looking belt manifested there, the 'gem' on its center illuminating the darkened room as it seemed to come alive.

" _Ride On!_ " declared the strange item in Sacred Tongue, as if greeting its master.

"Sleipnir. You awake, partner?"

An unnatural huff answered the young woman's voice, even as a 6-legged figure seemed to be ready to materialize behind her.

"Then… _let's ride_."

Somewhere within the lands of the East Empire, deep within the earth, in a place considered as the second most secure after Central Cathedral itself…many prison cells lined one of its seemingly endless and labyrinthic hallways.

Inside the one at the furthest end of it…the sounds of someone softly _counting_ could be heard, somehow creeping out the Subterraneans supposed to stand guard near enough for them to abandon the hallway, as they always did when he started doing that.

"…98…99…100!"

With that ragged declaration, the sweat-drenched form of someone chained to the cell's wall by extremely long and sturdy-looking chains…stopped doing _sit-ups_.

Slowly, he looked down at his arms, experimentally tugging on his bindings with one of them, feeling the seemingly unbreakable resistance.

Grunting, he concentrated, trying to push his Will upon it, closing his fist and trying to imagine it with the Power to destroy everything…

No change occurred, though. And as it had for the last several months, nothing but an empty feeling answered his useless call.

The look of despair and sadness on his face barely lasted for an instant, before his face once again scolded itself into one of determined purpose, even as his gaze wandered towards the dirty bandages and blood-stained ragged cape hanging from the wall.

He would get out of there. He would find his friends. He would return to his family.

That was what it meant to be 'Kirito', after all.

With that determination set, the young man wordlessly let himself fall down, stopping his fall…and started doing _push-ups_ without any hesitation.

"1…2…3…4…!"

Within the depths of Underworld's darkest prison, the one that kept refusing to give up before Fate's designs continued waiting, for the moment to once again swing his fists…

* * *

 _"…"_

 _"What? Speechless once again, Golden King? Or perhaps…do you want me to stop the story?"_

 _"No, that's not…ugh! Who are you, Storyteller?! Really!"_

 _"I have told you many times…just someone who has nothing left to do but share stories…"_

 _"That's bullshit! You shouldn't…you shouldn't know any of this, no one should! How do you know so much about my fat…?! Ah!"_

 _"Shhh. Almost said something very personal there, little one. You shouldn't be so rash when speaking, Requiem-chan. After all, secrets are the most valued thing in this world, aren't they?"_

 _"…never call me that again. And…continue the story, please."_

 _"As you wish, my King…"_

* * *

 _Next…_

 **In this Corrupted World, few legends inspire True Hope…**

 _Smiling like no human should be able to, the awakened Ruler looked down at the armored figures, all of which knelt before her, awaiting her words…her commands._

 _?: Stand, my Integrity Knights. It's time to know why you were called here…_

 **Yet, there is one that lights a fire within everyone who hears it…**

 _Scowling, the figure in golden armor seemed to tower before the cell, though the one within barely paid her any attention._

 _Alice: I won't ask again. You have made me waste way too much time, so answer or face the consequences…how did you do all of that, back then in the Immortal Wall?"_

 _Kirito: Sorry, blondie. My answer is still the same…I just punched really hard._

 **That of a warrior with a mask, atop a mythical beast, who protects everyone who the world has forsaken, wielding a power that doesn't belong…**

 _Sortiliena: Tell me…is saving him worth risking your lives?_

 _Looking down at the countless Subterraneans standing guard near the dark structure, the green-eyed boy answered without hesitation._

 _Eugeo: Yes._

 _Sortiliena:…that's all I needed to hear._

 **And those who know of the legend call her…**

 _Standing atop the hill, the young woman moved forward, her horse following silently._

 _Then, without hesitation, she reached for the belt on her waist, letting it come alive with a harmonious melody as she uttered a single word._

 _One with the Power to Change the World._

 _Sortiliena: Henshin._

 **…The Rider.**

 _Belt?: [Enhance Armament! Enhance Armament!]_

 **Next time on 'One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate':**

 **Chapter 7: Masked Valkyrie**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Ah, man, that was quite long! Also very interesting to write, though :3

Well, this time I included some Underworld scenes at the beginning and the end, but once again most of the focus was in the real world for this Interlude! The UHA has started to move, fiercely, to get Kirito back. However, they don't know of the danger that hunts for them from all sides, and the edges of Reality have finally started to come undone around them as time draws to a close. How will this affect everyone? You shall see…soon.

Also, Tiese calling Eugeo 'Sempai', because of course I couldn't write this story without that happening at least once XD

Meanwhile, a rescue mission of another sort but with the same objective is about to take place within the world down the rabbit hole too! Also, rejoice everyone, for Liena-sempai is here :D! (And Uolo and Gorgolosso too, I guess...but they aren't cute girls so most people doesn't care about them, something that I suspect even the anime won't change XP) And she has…something not related with OPM? Eh? Well, the answers to that will also come…soonish!

For now, though, I fear that's all. No Omake because Interlude, as always, but don't worry, as we will see each other again soon in the next update of 'The Eroge'! Man, it seems so long since I wrote more of that…

Until then, this is Saint, signing off!


	11. Chapter 7: Masked Valkyrie

Hi there everyone! Sorry for the delay with this chapter, several things got meshed together that made this month a bit slow for me: Got a new laptop so I had to transfer everything from the old one to this one, then four five series I actually wanted to watch started, four of which come out the same day, and then I got Red Dead Redemption 2 so…yeah XP

But well, here I'm again, my dear readers, brining you another chapter of this crazy even if not all that popular sequel! But hey, maybe now that Alicization is getting animated more attention will come to it? Who knows, but again, let me stress to not read this if you're anime-only because you're going to get Spoiled big time. Especially in this chapter, as we start it up with a lot of characters that don't get introduced until late-Alic…

On better news, though, I would like that, if you want, give a look to my profile and see something new I have posted there, under this story's section: OPG:CoF Opening 1! Yup, I loved Alicization's opening, ADAMAS (What a gloriously wonderful song), so much I decided to try my hand at making one of those 'Fanfic Opening' I sometimes see around, but decided to just post it on my profile so readers don't get annoyed by it in case they don't like it (I think it's quite silly anyway, but a friend convinced me to post it there :3).

With that outta the way, though, enjoy the chapter!

 **PS:** Chapter Betaed by Pikatwins234! Thanks again, pal!

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Arc III: Knights of Despair**

 _"I am willing to do anything to become more powerful. However…I can't picture myself coming even close to attaining Sensei's power"_ – Genos, the Ultimate Disciple.

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Masked Valkyrie**

 **20th Day of the 11th Month of the Human Empire Calendar, 379. Centoria, Central Cathedral. Evening…**

Undeterred, the Golden Knight walked through the immaculate hallways of the Central Cathedral, purpose in every single one of her steps as she ignored the few scribes or apprentices that she passed by, either awe or fear filling their eyes when she did so.

No one even bothered to try and talk to her, though. After all, no one could just talk to an Integrity Knight for no reason, much less when they were so clearly heading somewhere important.

Finally, after ascending a final stretch of stairs, the imposing figure entered through a very specific, seeming nondescript, door.

An absolute and soul-chilling darkness greeted her, only the briefest hesitation seemingly in her steps for an instant before she kept going, the door seemingly having completely vanished from behind her, the black world around her seemingly 'rippling' in places.

She hated it. This… _thing_ that she was traveling through. She would much more prefer to simply have come to the upper parts of the tower atop her dear Amayori.

However, for the 'meeting' she currently needed to attend, no less 'security' could be allowed, or so she had been told.

Finally, a new door, this one radically different from the previous one, opened before her, and the Integrity Knight found herself emerging out of the 'nothingness' and into a wide and ample room, mostly empty and only vaguely circular.

No trace of any door was behind her, once again. The _thing_ that was the silent gatekeeper of Central Cathedral's inner walls had once again retreated 'somewhere'.

Her attention didn't remain on it for long, though, and not only because of her personal disgust against it. No, it was because, even if the room was bereft of furniture or anything eye-catching, it wasn't so of _people_.

If the likes of them could be called that, of course. After all, all of them, every single one of the armored figures within the room was one of the protectors of the Human World, those who had been called down from the Celestial Realm by the Highest Minister to keep order amongst humankind.

Indeed, all of them, the Integrity Knights, couldn't really be called humans anymore, even without their Blessings…

"Hey, look there, Blondie-chan finally showed up!"

"Fi-Fizel-chan, shut up, she will hear you…"

"Oh, who cares, Linel? I'm bored as hell, so that may actually be amusing~!"

Scowling heavily under her helmet, the Golden Knight looked to the side, towards the two only figures that didn't wear any armor at all, looking completely out of place amongst the rest of the Order.

After all, they both looked like children, no older than 10, and didn't give the impression of belonging in the room at all.

The outspoken one with straw-colored hair in a short cut and bluish eyes, Fizel, was grinning her way as if daring her to answer to her 'insult', something she obviously wouldn't do. Still, there was no denying that, more than her age, the prison jumpsuit with white and blue stripes she wore as only clothing, not even any footwear at all, was weirdly disturbing. Even more with the Ball and chain seemingly hanging from her left leg, which should be more than heavy enough to not let anyone of her apparent age or physical ability to move at all.

Compared to her, the shy one of pale light brown hair in two braids with droopy-looking eyebrows and eye corners on her grayish orbs, Linel, looked like the most 'normal' person in the entire group, with only a white lab coat covering most of the average church apprentice uniform she wore underneath. Once again, though, the Golden Knight found the square-glasses she wore to be unnervingly disturbing, specifically when they reflected the light at an angle that made her eyes invisible under the reflected gleam, as if her gaze were just 2 sinister squares of light.

And the recently arrived armored girl…completely ignored them and walked past, making Linel wince and Fizel to look shocked before her face turned into an annoyed look.

"HEY! You can't just go and ignore us! Are you listening to me?! Hey, A…!"

"Alice-sama!" called out a young man as he stepped before the Golden Knight, the smile on his pretty face looking radiant despite the lack of sunlight to reflect off it, clearly overjoyed by the newcomer's arrival. "I'm so glad to see you're back!"

For a moment, the blue-caped warrior regarded her fellow Integrity Knight, her eyes roaming over his tall form and his stunningly beautiful face with eyebrows that gave off a rugged expression, and long pale purple hair. Idly, she felt a tug within her that she easily shrugged off with a pull of her Will, but that caused a small bout of annoyance to fill her.

He may not have been able to control the 'passive' effect of his Blessing, but it was still annoying that her 'student' could be so careless.

"Eldrie, mind your smile, you're doing _that_ again." scolded the Golden Knight with a cold tone, making the now named Eldrie freeze and cover his mouth with both hands, exploding in several apologies that she seemed to ignore. "And your concern wasn't needed. The Pit is probably the second most secure place in the Human Empire, me being there just makes it even more."

"…Alice-sama, about that…why do you continue going to that place just to see some lowly prisoner?" questioned the other knight once he had regained his composure, a heavy scowl in his face. "No matter what he did, he shouldn't be wasting your time like that! You should just bring him here and let one of the Sacred Arts' Experts take…!"

"Are you questioning my methods, Eldrie?" coldly asked Alice without even looking at him, making the young man freeze again and gulp loudly, his hand idly caressing the white whip on his hip as if trying to calm down. "…that's what I thought. What I do or don't do shouldn't worry, nor concern you, as long as I keep fulfilling my duties as an Integrity Knight. Something YOU should also keep in mind."

"Ye-yes, Alice-sama! I haven't failed on any of my duties even once so far!" repeated Eldrie while barely resisting the urge to bow, the Golden Knight nodding once at him and walking away, making him sigh in relief. "Ah…Alice-sama is truly strict…"

"Whipped." chuckled Fizel without a hint of shame, ignoring how a horrified Linel tried to shake her to silence, earning a furious glare from the whip-using knight. "Ooooh, what's wrong, pretty boy? Falling for me? That's one intense look you're giving me~"

"Don't tempt me to do it, child…" growled Eldrie while tightly gripping his whip's handle. "Or I swear…"

"Enough!" interrupted Renri's imposing form while walking between the two of them with raised hands, the fully armored 'guardian' scowling at them. "You're supposed to be Integrity Knights, not squabbling children, so start acting like…!"

"Oh, don't try and act all high and mighty with us, 'Guardian of the Capital'. We're _not_ the ones who got beaten up to an inch of our lives by two nobody criminals." viciously retorted Fizel with a face that no child should make, something akin to sadistic glee, making the winged knight flinch in surprise. "Still feeling it on your left wings? Bet you were horrified when you thought you would completely lose them because no Sacred Art was healing them, right? If it wasn't for Her Excellency's mercy and divine powers, you wouldn't even BE here with us now!"

"I…I…" mumbled Renri at a complete loss, a clawed hand over his left upper wing at the phantom memory of having woken up in a world of pain and missing them, his gaze moving to Eldrie only to see him looking away, seemingly ashamed. "I just…wasn't expecting…"

"What? That your enemies would stand a chance against you? Heh, you almost even lost your Divine Object! What kind of sorry excuse for a knight are yo…!"´

"Fizel-chan. Stop. Now."

Those three simple words had come from Linel's mouth just as she gripped her 'friend's shoulder, but the voice coming out didn't seem even remotely like that of the shy girl from a moment ago.

This voice was calculating and cold, almost mechanical in nature, like that of someone who didn't consider themselves human. Combined with the way the light was currently reflecting off her glasses, it made both older knights feel thoroughly unnerved.

For a moment, Fizel scowled at her, as if trying to discern something within her friend's glasses, before her face settled back in that playful look she had before she had started talking with Eldrie.

"Okay then, Linel-chan! But only because you asked me, not those meanies!"

"…thank Heavens, yo-you shouldn't go around picking up fights for no reason, Fizel-chan…" mumbled the 'shyer' knight, her own voice and face having returned to 'normal'.

Silently, both Renri and Eldrie exchanged a quick look and walked away from them. Those two were just creepy to be close to, in more ways than one.

Meanwhile, Alice had walked past and ignored the entire exchange to head closer to the center of the room, giving a brief nod to the red-clad form of Deusolbert Synthesis Seven, the knight with the stun rods on his hips and the crimson bow on his back nodding back in acknowledgement, though not saying anything in return.

It was strange but, like every time she interacted with the weirdly silent man, the blonde felt a strange chill on the furthest corner of her mind, as if something she couldn't quite recall was trying to break free.

That went quickly out of her head, though, her steps stopping a moment later as she looked towards the biggest figure present, sitting against the wall.

Scheta's inhuman gaze stared back, the four inhuman eyes of the Subterranean Queen fixed on her.

"…something the matter, Synthesis Thirty?" asked the humanoid creature while tilting her head, the black and thin blade in her upper right hand twitching slightly.

"No…nothing at all, Synthesis Twelve." replied the Golden Knight before moving on, closer still to the center of the room, her eyes fixed on a vaguely circular 'mark' on the ceiling.

"…you shouldn't try antagonizing Scheta, _little_ Alice. It may end badly for you."

The almost 'metallic' voice had come from Alice's blind spot, out of nowhere, and would have made her jump forward and spin with a hand on her blade under any other circumstance.

However, she not only knew very well who the voice's owner was, she also knew that _she_ didn't register to her senses because of her Blessing.

She also knew that this person didn't like her at all, for reasons she couldn't even begin to fathom. But that was fine, because 'getting along' with her fellow knights wasn't something she was required to do in order to fulfill her duty.

And so, she slowly turned around, looking towards the taller figure that also wore full armor, hers being a slightly purple color.

"…Fanatio-san." simply declared the Golden Knight before, almost casually, taking off her helmet, letting her blonde hair spill out and her blue eyes to gaze back towards the older knight, feeling the way in which her fists clenched slightly at the action, a very subtle burst of anger filling her silent form before it was gone equally fast. "I see you're doing well. Where are your subordinates, though? I thought all the Integrity Knights with a 'Blessing' were supposed to be here."

"…Dakira, Jeis, Hobren, and Giro are waiting on the dragon's roost and readying our mounts. Just because the entire Order has been reassigned to the Capital doesn't mean we can relax. The enemies of Humanity never rest." simply replied the armored woman while seemingly holding back whatever she actually wanted to say. "And truly, it's foolish for you to pick a fight with her, of all people."

"I wasn't doing anything of the sort. I'm just…still not used to her, that's all. And the fact that I can't ever figure out what she's thinking doesn't help." confessed Alice while briefly glancing towards the once again silently sitting form of Synthesis 12. "It took a while with Renri too, so I'm not expecting any miracles, but I'm thinking she may be impossible for me…"

"Yes, guess your valued ability to figure out others with just a glance to their faces doesn't work if they don't have a human one, eh?" snorted Fanatio while looking towards the center of the room.

"You would know that better than me, wouldn't you? You don't have one either, after all." calmly retorted the Golden Knight without missing a beat.

Immediately, everyone in the room could feel the tension skyrocket, every pair of eyes snapping towards Synthesis 2 as she bore menacingly before Synthesis 30, a hand over her blade and trembling before the unimpressed girl. Even more telling, though, was how a… _black suitcase_ had materialized seemingly out of nowhere in her free hand, the grip around it so tight it would have hurt any normal being.

And from within her helmet, a single, ominous light seemed to shine directly over the blonde's face.

"Do you want to die, child?!"

"I'm an Integrity Knight, protector of the Human World, just like you, Fanatio _-sama_. You may be older, but that doesn't change anything. However, if you try to take my life…" as she spoke those words, Alice's form seemed to flicker in place, everyone else tensing as they knew what was to come next. "…I will answer in kind without hesi…"

"Now, now, why don't we all calm down instead? Hmm?"

Suddenly, it was the entire world had changed.

Outwardly, everything was the same, but every single Knight within the room felt as if a terrifying presence was pressing down on them.

And like announcing HIS arrival, came the _sound_.

Many had tried to put a name to it through the years. Some compared it to the drums of war from a forgotten age. Others said it was akin to the roars of beasts from the heavens coming to reap the souls of the unworthy. The bravest ones said it was the bells announcing their deaths, as they had been foolish enough to defy one who couldn't be beaten.

If a certain gamer clad in black and white had been there, though, he would have said it was more like… _an engine_.

All of it coming from the tall man with short iron-gray hair, slightly tinged with blue, who had just walked into the room. He was bulky, his impressive muscles and almost 2 Mels of height letting him tower over almost everyone else, and even the two that were taller (Renri and Scheta) felt minuscule before him. There was nothing but kindness in pale light blue eyes, and yet they held a power that no one else could defy. The many old wounds in his body, scars of countless battles he had always emerged victorious from, were a testament to that. And, as a testament of how important this meeting was, he was wearing his full armor sans the helmet, like everyone else but the girls that were too young to have one yet, despite how he never really needed to wear it.

He was the Strongest Man in the World, after all. The one who had first earned the title of 'Integrator' before any of them were around, before most of them were even _born_.

The Greatest Protector of the Human World.

The First Integrity Knight.

 _Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump…_

And the ominous sound emerging from within his body, the most obvious characteristic of his Blessing, didn't stop even once as he calmly made his way to the center of the room, Fizel and Linel shrinking away at his passing, even as Renri and Eldrie stood straighter and saluted. Scheta rose from where she sat, giving a small bow of acknowledgment to the warrior as he finally stopped before the two females near the center.

They both spoke almost at the same time, as surprised by his presence as they were by being 'caught', apparently.

"Bercouli-sama…"

"Ojii…that is, Synthesis One-sama!"

"Yes, that's me." chuckled Bercouli Synthesis 1 as he calmly put a hand on their shoulders and separated them as if it was no big deal, like one handling children instead of warriors with the power to easily kill countless with little effort. "We were all called here for a reason, remember? Let's try not to kill each other over petty squabbles, ladies."

"…I wasn't really gonna hurt the brat. I was just trying to teach her some respect…" mumbled Fanatio while looking away, the suitcase having mysteriously vanished and the hand she had above her sword moving away, her previous air of a serious knight of the Human Empire having completely crumbled away.

"I-indeed, I was also me-merely jesting. Fanatio-sama is the second-in-command of the order, I-I would never face off against her for such a petty reason." excused Alice while crossing her arms and turning around, an embarrassed blush on her face, having also lost all of her previous cool and mysterious demeanor.

Truly, the power Synthesis 1 had to reduce any of the other Integrity Knights into embarrassed children was something fearsome.

Just as he was about to open his mouth and said something else, though…a quite unpleasant and careless voice echoed through the room, making all the knights blink and scowl.

"Well, it was, _munch_ , about time all of you got here, _munch_ , Integrity Knights!"

As one, everyone present turned towards the wall, seeing that 'door of darkness' open once again to allow a quite bizarre-looking person to enter, and given that the likes of Renri and Scheta were already inside said a lot about that.

After all, the 'man', if it could be called that, was not only dressed like some sort of clown or sinister harlequin, he was also so fat that he was almost spherical in shape. His stubby and flabby legs and arms didn't seem physically able to keep his body straight, yet he still somehow managed to walk with an almost comical jump in his steps towards the center of the room. And also, quite disgustingly if one may add, to throw several pieces of some sort of weirdly-looking food into his mouth from a simple bag that was carrying on his left hand.

Both his bizarrely comical and disgusting appearance made such a contrast with the imposing/strange/scary forms of the Integrity Knights that it almost hurt to look at him. The fact that none of the so-called defenders of the Human World was looking at him without at least a hint of contempt was also very telling.

And yet, no one made any attempt to talk or openly show any disgust or hostility towards the bizarre clown.

No wonder, when he technically was their _superior_ , as absurd as that would have sounded for anyone who heard it.

"Chief Elder Chudelkin." greeted Bercouli with a slightly forced smile, even the infinitely patient knight clearly not liking the man's disgusting presence all that much. "I didn't know you would honor us with your presence."

"Much! Well, Synthesis One, that's because this is quite a special occasion." commented Chudelkin without missing a beat, stopping a moment to burp loudly and quickly ignoring the disgusted faces most of the Knights made as his action, just to continue talking. "After all, it's not every day that Her Eminence addresses the all of you, after all."

A moment of absolute, shocked silence filled the entire group, even the First Knight taking a step back with a look of absolute incredulity.

Then, as if it had been waiting for the words of the rotund Chief Elder, the strange circular depression on the room's ceiling opened, staring to descend like some magical elevator.

At once, every Integrity Knight stiffened, took a step back and fell on their knees. Even Scheta, as awkward as it was in her form, even the unruly and strange children, even Renri despite his wings or Deusolbert despite his weapons…every single one of them kneeled and looked down, their arms crossed before them as if saluting or _praying_.

Something akin to a throne was position atop the descending circle. And sat atop that throne, She stared down at the kneeling knights, at the strongest warriors of the world, all prostrated before her.

The woman sitting on the throne couldn't really be called human. After all, how could a simple human be so otherworldly beautiful? Her long silver hair, with a bluish-white hue depending on the lighting, seemed like someone had turned a piece of the moon into long strands. Her eyes were of a silver so clear they somehow seemed to reflect every color of the rainbow, no pupils visible inside them and yet clearly able to see everyone and everything within the room, even those that shouldn't be within her current line of sight. Her body was a thing that seemed out of a man's most forbidden and coveted dreams, voluptuous and curvaceous in every way that mattered, her skin of an immaculate brightness, and only a simple attire hemmed of silver threads, that was a step away from being completely transparent, covering it from the world. The fact that it had an unashamedly open neckline and that she was barefoot just seemed to hammer the fact that she had no shame or fear about exposing her body.

It was no surprise, though, at least not if you were one of those that stood within that room. Because her mere presence was enough to tell you, of how unworthy you were of laying your eyes upon her, of how pitiful you were in comparison to her, of how no other being within this pathetic world was worthy of gazing upon her perfection…

And yet, in all her boundless benevolence, she allowed it.

Because…wasn't that what a fair Ruler should do? And there was no ruler greater or mightier than her in the entire Underworld, after all.

" _Administrator_ -sama." breathed out Bercouli without raising his head, the name in 'Sacred Tongue' sending a shiver down all the Integrity Knights' backs. "You…you honor us with your presence, Esteemed Highest Minister."

'Administrator' simply smiled at the words, the Founder and Highest Minister of the Axiom Church, the One True Ruler of the Human World, gifting the knights with that simple gesture, which seemed to be enough to make their souls sing, an alien and foreign joy filling them all with just that.

Such terrifying power…was also what made it so obvious, that this being wasn't human at all.

She was someone who had Transcended from that realm a long time ago.

"There is no need for that, Bercouli. And you all, my dear Integrity Knights…you can stand up if you so wish to." spoke the otherworldly woman with a voice that felt like honey for your ears, though none except Bercouli and Fanatio dared to take her on her offer, and even then the second-in-command refused to look anywhere but the ground, as if scared of looking directly upon their ruler. "After all, the time to finally explain to you all why you were called back to Central Cathedral several months ago has come."

Every knight allowed themselves a brief moment of surprise upon the declaration, though none dared to comment on it or openly express their shock. After all, their sudden 'Mass Recall' and the lack of any clear explanation for it beyond the news that Renri had been defeated and seriously injured by a group of very dangerous criminals that had then managed to cross from Norlangarth to Eastabarieth through the Immortal Wall had been a constant presence on the back of their minds, especially as the months passed and nothing else of any notoriety seemed to take place in the capital. More than one of the Integrity Knights had even started to wonder if they should return to their previously assigned areas of the Human Empire, given the lack of further orders.

It seemed all their dubious 'patience' was about to be rewarded, though.

"As you all know, there was an incident in Norlangarth not long ago. A criminal was reported from Rulid Village, the northernmost settlement of the empire. The person in question had not only violated one of the Taboo Index's greatest decrees by crossing into the Dark Territory, but they were also reported to have an unusual Blessing. And that's when things took a, let's say, 'curious' turn…isn't that right, Fanatio?"

"…yes, esteemed Highest Minister." answered the woman without raising her face. "One of my direct subordinates, Dakira Synthesis Twenty-two, was in Norlangarth because of an errand she had just finished, so she was the one tasked with apprehending the criminal. However, upon arriving to Rulid…she found that the criminal had escaped, together with an 'unknown' that…hadn't been reported."

"Indeed. A boy that came out of nowhere without memories, a 'Lost Child of Vector', going by the report recounting the villagers' statements, who had 'saved' the village's chief elder when she was kidnapped by some goblins in the North Cave." continued Administrator with an almost chiding tone. "Thing is, none of them apparently knew the criminal in question, one Selka Zuberg, was one, or had even done such a thing. Apparently, the mysterious boy, this 'Anomaly', somehow had been with Selka Zuberg and not been reported. Despite the fact that we had also detected another criminal, one believed dead years ago, from around that area, who had apparently survived by awakening yet another unknown Blessing…"

For some reason, Alice felt her gaze moving to the side almost against her will, resting on the silent form of Deusolbert, the seventh knight almost imperceptibly seeming to move at the words, though his posture suggested he himself wasn't sure of the reason behind his own actions.

"Somehow, this unknown criminal wasn't detected at all despite clearly having violated the Taboo Index at least to some extent. Then, he took both criminals and fled Rulid before Synthesis Twenty-two arrived, as if he knew they would come." as she kept talking, the Highest Minister idly moved her right hand, as if grasping air for no apparent reason. "Their disappearance couldn't be fully investigated, though, because Synthesis Twenty-two's original objective, the reason she was in Norlangarth in the first place, had once again shown signs of activity: Two fugitives of the highest degree that escaped from a facility in Wesdarath, causing untold destruction and casualties upon doing so, and that managed to get through the Immortal Wall…"

The reminder of that particular duo caused a scowl to appear in more than one of the knights, others shuddering slightly. After all, the fact that two Cursed Ones had roamed free within the Empire for so long was bad enough, but that one of them was the only ever recorded 'Dragon-Level Threat' to have conserved her sanity was even more startling. The fact that, before her capture, she had apparently killed Synthesis 3, the second strongest knight in the order's history because of his Blessing, _by accident_ , was just plain terrifying. It was also the reason why the hunt for her and her companion had been strictly restricted to be handled by Subterraneans, even if lately there had been some talk of sending a specific squad to finally catch and subdue them. Or even Synthesis 1 himself.

It was because they had stayed all but hidden since their escape and the debacle with the Wesdarath-Norlangarth Immortal Wall and that more, even if minor, issues had started appearing all around the Human Empire as of late that they weren't given a bigger priority, but then…

"You all know very well what happened, though. Somehow, the Anomaly's group made contact with these two fugitives and not only didn't end up killed, but they also managed to _ally_ themselves with them, almost killing Synthesis Ten and actually crossing through the Immortal Wall towards Eastabarieth."

"…I once again offer my humblest apologies for that, esteemed Highest Minister!" all but shouted/pleaded Renri from where he kneeled near the middle of the group. "If I had known that they were with those two super-dangerous-fugitives and hadn't been killed, I wouldn't have underestimated them until…!"

"It's okay, Renri. We're all just glad that you survived." silenced him the smiling ruler with a tone and a smile that denied any argument against her words, the winged knight barely able to not collapse upon hearing her calling his name. "Still, the fact that they survived and escaped over half a dozen of Subterraneans Squads, no matter how much power they wielded, was more than shocking, even more when no trace of them was found afterward…though it seems this is because the Anomaly was even more so than we imagined. Reports by the survivors said he singlehandedly killed and delayed most of the deceased forces while giving his companions time to escape."

Scheta visibly shook at that, and more than one of the knights couldn't help but give her a doubtful/calculating look. After all, while little was known of the one called Synthesis Twelve, everyone was aware that it was from her 'Curse' that the main force of the Axiom Church…no, of the very Human Empire's defenses, spawned.

She was the 'mother' of all Subterraneans, in a way, so to know that a single person had suddenly killed more than anyone ever before had managed…

"But we didn't come empty-handed from that thanks to a very important and fortuitous action. The Anomaly was captured and incarcerated in 'The Pit', where he has been unable to break free from until now." as she kept speaking, Administrator let her gaze fall on one of the figures kneeling closest to her, her smile widening an imperceptible degree as she did so. "Alice, dear…has your prisoner confessed anything yet?"

"No, esteemed Highest Minister. The criminal refuses to reveal how he managed to do…whatever he did back then, despite having…no Blessing at all." finished Alice with a clear sense of frustration in her voice, as if recalling something particularly displeasing.

"Indeed, just as I thought. Now then, having reviewed all of this, my knights…I must confess something to you." closing her eyes, the Highest Minister suddenly seemed…worried, or at least something very akin to it. "The world's very balance…is in danger. I fear there is something out there that threatens to destroy everything we have protected…since the Axiom Church's founding."

The unexpected news made every single Integrity Knight present to look up at their ruler in shock, surprise and disbelief filling the faces not hidden by a helmet, even a hint of anger in some.

"So-someone actually dares…?!"

"Who could be foolish enough to…?!"

"Madness! As long as her Excellency protects this world and we…"

"The probabilities of such a thing are…"

"Who could be stupid enough to…?"

"SILENCE!" roared Bercouli of all people, his order making the entire order fall silent even as he took a deep breath, almost seeming to still himself as he once again looked at the face of the Highest Minister, who just continued giving that sad smile despite the knights' reactions. "Administrator-sama…do we know the nature of this threat? How can we deal with it before it can even dream of fulfilling itself?"

"Sadly, the details of it escape even me, Synthesis One. All that I know is that the threat exists, hence why I recalled you all back here as soon as something as unexpected as the defeat of an Integrity Knight happened. As you all know, the instance of this happening has only been once before…and never when in direct combat." explained Administrator while leaning forward, the gesture doing interesting things to her almost completely exposed anatomy, but none of the Defenders of the World seemed to even register it, their eyes never leaving their face. "I do suspect, though, that this unknown 'anomaly' Synthesis Thirty has been trying to get information from may be related to it."

"Wha-what?" mumbled Alice with clear shock, her eyes suddenly doubtful. "Him? But…he's not…esteemed Highest Minister, that criminal barely qualifies as a threat, even more if whatever power he exhibited back in the Immortal Wall was a limited thing, something I'm almost sure of or he would have tried to use it to escape. How could…?"

"As I said, dear Alice, the details of it all escape even me. However, we can't ignore all the 'coincidences' surrounding his appearance, and the fact that he refuses to answer your questions doesn't help. We can't risk the world's balance just because we're unsure of something." Spoke the ruler while making a grand gesture with her arm, the Integrity Knights suddenly felt as if something 'shifted' in the air around them. "You will go retrieve him from The Pit and bring him here to Central Cathedral as soon as possible. Our Sacred Arts' experts will then make sure he reveals everything he knows.

"I…yes, esteemed Highest Minister. Your will shall be done." declared Alice after a brief instant of hesitation, her gaze falling down once again as she crossed an arm over her heart.

"All for the sake of the Human World." spoke the Highest Minister with a radiant smile.

"All for the sake of the Human World!" replied every Integrity Knight without a second of delay, the words somehow echoing with Power that defined their very existences.

"You can depart then, my knights. Besides Alice, all of you are free until further orders are issued, but don't get too far from the Capital. Danger may come from where you least expect it, after all." finished Administrator as every knight bowed and left the room, being granted exit by that mysterious shadow creating entrances of Darkness for them once again…except one. "Hmm? Something the matter, Synthesis One?"

"…Administrator-sama…can I ask you something about what you just told us?" questioned the First Knight as he stood up and looked directly at the ruler.

"You dare question Her Excellency, Synthesis One?!" snarled Chudelkin as he all but bounced before Bercouli, a disturbing look on his pudgy face…even as he kept throwing those weird crackers in his mouth, munching angrily without pause. "Munch! You insolent little…!"

"Chudelkin, be silent." there was no change in the volume of her voice nor her tone, yet both men froze and almost felt themselves fall at the sudden pressure being exerted upon them. "…speak, dear Bercouli. As the knight who has been at my side the longest, you have earned that privilege. What troubles you about my words?"

"…this threat you speak of…are you truly afraid of it?" bluntly demanded Synthesis One without missing a beat, something undecipherable in his eyes as if he was asking for the mysteries of the Universe to be revealed. "I…I know you. I'm the only one who knows…the true depths of your power. At this point, even if the Dark Territory invaded…I know you could crush them all without any effort. Cursed and Blessed ones alike. Every single one of them. So…"

So, how could there exist anything that you could consider a threat? Those were the words Bercouli Synthesis One didn't dare to say.

Complete silence fell in the now almost empty room, as if the very air itself had suddenly forgotten of how to breathe…

…and then, IT happened.

Chudelkin fell to his knees, then 'flat' on his face, his massive form not rolling, but seemingly crushed against the floor, gasping for breath.

Bercouli fell to one knee, his armor cracking, oxygen having also escaped him as he did his best to not look at **_It_** , having trouble to even keep himself conscious.

He was basically on all fours as he felt It move until it hovered just before him, but he still forced himself not to look, knowing the consequences of doing so.

 _Something_ shaped vaguely like a hand, but made out of a thing that didn't belong within Reality, reached out and caressed the air just an inch from his left cheek, somehow making him feel as if something was reaching into his very soul, caressing it with just enough force to let him know how insignificant he was.

After all…what was the Strongest Man in the World in the face of the One True **God**?

"[Believe me when I tell you, Bercouli…that there are Truths about this world of ours that even you don't know. Things that would make you question your very life and that of everyone within it.]" spoke the Conceptual Being while looking down on the First Knight as he seemed to struggle just to breathe. "[So yes…you should take this warning of mine very seriously, for there are things outside of even my Absolute Power… _for now_. Soon, though…even the Outer World will **belong to ME…** ]"

And then, as abruptly as it had started, it was over, and Bercouli was alone in the circular room, cold sweat and his damaged armor clinging to his body, not even the smallest hint that Chudelkin or Administrator had ever been there.

Even so, it would still take several minutes before the one called 'The Strongest' stood up again and left the room, his hand touching his right cheek, feeling how his skin was impossibly smooth and all scars had vanished from it, as if infused with new life…something he knew was only temporary.

And during that entire time, he never stopped feeling the eyes of God watching over his back, judging him…

* * *

 **22nd Day of the 11th Month of the Human Empire Calendar, 379. 'The Pit', Somewhere in Eastabarieth. Early Morning…**

It was cold and silent within the dark cell.

Of course, for anyone who had been around that area long enough knew that the 'silent' part wasn't exactly accurate. After all, depending on the time of the day, one would either hear the sounds of someone running or…

"…91…92…93…"

"All the Gods above, will you please shut up?!" came a snarling voice from one of the nearby cells, even as a young man with unusual-looking muscles and skin, not to mention _four arms_ , walked out of the shadows to glare murder at the farthest side of the hallway. "You do that every fucking day without pause and it's driving me insane! Why do you even expect to accomplish with it?!"

"…99…100!" grunted the black-haired young man within the last cell of the hallway, taking a deep breath as he slowly stood up and dusted himself off from the push-ups he had been doing. "Ugh…well, you should know by now, Fist Fight Djinn-san…"

"Raios! I have told you a fucking dozen times, my name is Raios!" growled the mutated young man of wavy blonde hair.

"…Fist Fight Djinn-san, that I'm training." continued Kirito as if he hadn't heard him. "Is literally the only thing I can do within this cell, so until I can get out, I won't waste my time doing nothing."

"…oh Gods, you _really_ do think you will manage to escape from here, don't you?" snorted the other prisoner before his arms gripped on his cell's bars, the gesture quickly proving futile as an invisible force pushed him away from them, rather painfully. "Gah…! You don't get it, right?! This is The Pit! This is where those who can't ever be allowed outside again get thrown in! No one is ever going to let you get out, no matter what! Even I…even I who was a noble got thrown here, with my family not even trying to stop them…"

"Well, sorry to tell you I have no intention to rot away in here forever. Even if I must keep training for over two years just to get strong enough, I _will_ get out of here, one way or another." calmly retorted the gamer before his gaze moved to last remaining cell in the hallway. "…maybe you both deserved to be here or not, but I know your friend didn't deserve whatever the hell happened to him."

As if he had swallowed a lemon, Raios stared at the empty cell opposite to his own, the signs that someone had been on it still visible despite having been empty for more than a month, as no one had bothered to remove the squiggles on the walls or the pieces of paper lying within.

"Humbert…we weren't really friends, more like acquaintances before all this madness, but…" shivering, the former noble looked towards the hallway's darkness, suddenly looking like some scared kid. "Whatever the hell they do to those they drag 'down below'… I don't want to know. I very much prefer this cell than facing whatever the hell they have down there. You…you have heard the screams too, right? When someone is taken?"

"…I have." somberly nodded Kirito as he looked towards the side of his cell, where his half-destroyed 'cape' hung from. "That's why I have to get out of here and do something about it…"

"…okay, seriously…just who the fucking hell are you?" borderline demanded the four-armed young man while putting his face as close to his cell's bars as he could without touching it, his narrowed gaze fixed on black-haired young man.

"…what do you mean?"

"Don't try and play silly with me! I used to be a noble and I killed someone else, yes, even if it was a mistake when my Curse first manifested. That's why I ended up here…but, despite that, besides the Subterraneans who feed us, no one ever bothers with me. I'm as much of a nobody as any other inmate." growled Raios while he pointed an accusatory finger towards the gamer. "You, though…just what kind of criminal are you that you get a fucking Inte…?"

The sudden sound of something coming from the hallway silenced the four-armed young man, his gaze snapping in that direction. Kirito himself let his eyes rise, though there was an almost bored glint on them now.

There was no need to doubt who was coming, of course. After all, Subterraneans didn't wear metallic boots that made that echo through the rocky walls.

As if he was a lizard running away from the light, Raios quickly retreated to the darkness of his cell, clearly terrified, and the black-haired boy could almost imagine him cowering in a corner while refusing to look outside his cell.

Understandable, he thought. For despite his pride and the talks about having been a noble, all of it became like empty words and dust in the wind on the presence of the golden figure walking towards his cell, almost seemingly generating her own light.

Raios may have been a 'monster', but the gamer knew that, despite how she looked under the helmet she now wore, the so-called knight now standing before him was a monster much more terrifying than he, Renri, or Eugeo could ever be.

For a while, there was only silence, Kirito's empty face seemingly squaring off against the undecipherable emptiness that was the Integrity Knight's helmet.

Then, after several minutes, the Golden Knight finally gave up and removed her helmet, clear annoyance in her face as her golden locks spilled down her back, especially when she saw the boy's previously empty face turn into a victorious grin.

Maybe they were petty victories, but he was proud to know his 'Saitama Face' never lost against her ominous and silent helmet-look.

"…I have come once again, criminal, to give you one last chance of answering my questions." spoke the girl as her sky-colored eyes scowled down at him. "Tell me how you did all of that back in the Immortal Wall despite not having a Blessing."

"I'm truly sorry, Blondie, but my answer won't change: I just punched really hard." nonchalantly replied Kirito without a care in the world, before turning around and walking deeper into his cell. "And once again, let me tell you back that is bad manners to not even introduce yourself when asking questions. I'm Kirito, as you know, but…"

"…I'm Alice Synthesis Thirty, Integrity Knight of the Axiom Church." clearly caught off guard at her unexpected answer, the black-haired boy's face snapped back, catching a brief glimpse of satisfaction in her own at his reaction. "And I'm only telling you this because this last negative of yours has put it out of my hands. I will be taking you towards the holding cells of the church's Central Cathedral in a few hours, _criminal Kirito_. There, you will speak the truth, whether you want it or not. That's all I had to say."

"…well, talk about disappointing!" shouted the gamer after her when she started walking away. "Here I thought you were supposed to be some mighty knight that protects the world, but all you clearly are is a lackey that follows any or…!"

Not even a quarter of the time it took to blink. Less than a fraction of a second.

Kirito idly wondered if that was how people had felt in the past at his speed when he found himself lifted a few inches from the ground, a hand within a metallic golden gauntlet crossed around his neck choking him while an artic-cold gaze seemed to try and murder him with just intent.

"Do not presume to judge me, criminal scum! I'm a Defender of the Human World!" snarled the blonde girl with clear anger. "And I don't know how or if you really are some threat for the order, but I won't have someone like you doubting my intentions for…!"

"Eugeo….Selka…Rulid Village!" spat the young man while glaring back into the Golden Knight's eyes, surprising her at the unexpected words, making her grip on him lessen. "Do any of those names…ring a bell within you, Alice?"

"…none at all. What nonsense are you speaking of, criminal?" demanded Alice with sudden interest, for she _did_ know all of those names, as they had been mentioned in the report regarding the criminal before her. "What importance do they have? Why did you think I would know something about them?"

"…it's nothing. Must be just a coincidence with the name." sighed Kirito while suddenly looking incredibly resigned and harmless, shocking the knight so much at the latest change that she let go of him, the boy crashing butt-first on the hard ground. "Ouch…damn, that hurt…"

"…you're clearly touched in the head, 'Kirito'. Either that or you're really _that_ foolish." snorted Alice while turning around and walking away. "I honestly don't know which one would be worse…"

"…Goddesses above, you really ARE insane, aren't you?!" whisper-shouted Raios once the blonde had vanished from view, staring at the black-haired boy as he stood shakily once again. "Antagonizing an Integrity Knight like that…I don't care if you have a death wish, but please, do that only when you're far away from m…!"

"Heh…I have no death wish, Fist Fight Djinn-san. I was just testing something out." replied the gamer with a small chuckle, the monstrous young man's usual response to his 'wrong name' stopping at his odd words. "And it seems I was right. Blondie there inherited Flashy Flash's speed AND his weaknesses too. Her thoughts can't keep up with her speed and instincts. Mine, however…"

Casually, Kirito opened his left fist, letting a small piece of blue cloth fall to the ground, Raios' eyes widened to the limit as he gaped at the thing.

"…are still more than able to, even if I have lost the speed."

"Is…is that…a piece of her…that's what you had her choke…?"

"That would be telling, wouldn't it?" replied the black-haired young man before turning back and walking towards his cell's depths, his gaze moving over the ragged cape hanging from the wall. "Now then…how many laps around this cell were ten kilometers in total again…?"

Ignoring the disbelieving look the other inmate gave him, as always, the Hero got ready to finish yet another day of training.

Every day, little by little, he got a little closer to his goal, after all.

* * *

Her name was Sortiliena Serlut, and, once upon a time, she was just a normal girl.

Or as normal as having been born in a 3rd Class Noble family, one of the highest echelons of Centoria's society, could be.

But besides that, she was surprisingly normal. She took pride in her family's style of swordsmanship even if others looked down on it for how unorthodox it was and how 'soft' its moves were. She always thought that the mix of almost dance-like stances to control the whip and the blade were beautiful and strong, though.

She liked flowers, something very normal in a young girl. Zephyria Flowers, to be precise, even if they only grew in a very specific part of the Human Empire, so she could never really see many of them after the trip as a child where she saw them for the first time.

One of her dreams was that, one day, she would own a small garden with a lot of them. Such a childish, yet still normal and peaceful dream…

…until she turned 13 years old. Until she saw something she shouldn't, opening her eyes to the cruel reality of the world. Until she tried to stop that atrocity and failed utterly, showing her how truly 'weak' she was, almost getting killed in the process.

And then a 'monster' appeared and offered her a deal. The power needed to make a difference in exchange for her humanity.

She accepted it with almost no hesitation, beyond some childish fear that she got rid of very fast. After all, what value did something as ambiguous as 'humanity' have before stopping what was clearly a horrible injustice?

That was the first time she killed something. And also the first time she was called a 'Hero'.

It had been over 6 years since then. Since her 'humanity' was forfeit. And now just her, and only her, knew the twisted truth…that these looks, the face and body of 'Sortiliena'…were just a mask for her true self.

People had it backward. They thought her other self was the mask…but that was her true nature. Always waiting. Always ready to answer her call, seeking to get free and unleash 'justice', to protect those that the Goddesses and the World itself had forsaken.

A protector of 'monsters', looking like some knight of fairy tale, and being in truth just an even bigger monster.

All it would take to change was _one simple word_ …

"…Sortiliena-san? Are you okay?"

"…I have already told you, Eugeo, you can just call me Liena. I know my name is a mouthful for most people." muttered the beautiful young woman as she opened her cerulean eyes, standing from where she had been leaning against a decrepit tree. "Did you finish scouting?"

"Yes. Come, I will…show you the entry point while I tell you everything I found." replied Eugeo while nodding to the side, the unorthodox dual wielder walking through the dead-looking forest. After a few seconds of seemingly pondering something, Sortiliena followed.

Honestly, the undead sometimes found himself weirded out by the young woman. Which was saying something, given she probably was, after Selka, the most 'normal' out of everyone living in their 'hideout'. And that he was literally the guy who just couldn't die. Then again, maybe it was because he could never really tell what she was thinking. In fact, he often could almost swear she seemed to be staring and talking to _something that wasn't there_ …or to her 'horse'. Which also happened to appear and disappear at seemingly random times.

In the end, though, that wasn't important right now. The facts were that, even if they weren't exactly friends, Sortiliena was someone he could trust, especially for an endeavor as important as this one. And that she was…more than strong enough. He had seen this for himself. Several times, in fact.

Those thoughts and more plagued his mind as he explained all that he had seen and deduced to the silent girl with the ponytail, Sortiliena nodding a couple times of making an inquiry as they walked.

Finally, though, they arrived atop the small cliff overlooking a half-hidden plateau, a forgotten piece of land in the already almost uninhabited place that was Eastabarieth.

No one wanted to be in the same part of the Empire as the East Gate that directly separated them from the Dark Territory as the world started turning weirder and more dangerous, after all. Which was probably the reason why the dark structure they saw down there, crawling with Subterraneans all around, would exist in the first place.

Nobody would be out here to help anyone, even in the miraculous chance a criminal managed to escape the sinister-looking prison. And even if they did, they would no doubt end up dead or recaptured long before they could reach civilization, unless they had a Blessing or Curse that allowed them to do so in the first place.

"…hey…can I ask you something?" questioned Sortiliena without turning to look at him, her gaze never leaving what was rumored to be the second most defended place in the entire Human World.

"…yes?" urged the green-eyed boy without taking his own eyes off the patrols of humanoid creatures.

"That boy…this Kirito…" as she kept talking, the young woman's cerulean gaze finally moved back towards the undead, looking sharper than he had ever seen her before. "Is saving him truly worth risking your lives like this?"

There was absolutely no hesitation when, after a brief instant, Eugeo answered, the image of a grinning caped figure telling them to go ahead shooting through his mind.

"Yes."

For an instant, silence reigned again as Sortiliena Serlut closed her eyes,

Then, when she opened them once again, her face had morphed into a tiny smile, her hands already readying the blade and whip she carried on her sides as she walked down the sharp path guiding to the plateau.

"That's all I needed to hear. Get ready to run…"

At that moment, on the opposite side of the structure, a beam of raw destruction suddenly shot out from the tree line, punching through the tallest point of the black building and erupting from the other side as if it was made of glass, absolute chaos suddenly erupting amount the Subterraneans.

"…you're the one getting inside while we distract them, after all."

"I know." nodded the green-eyed boy while thinking for a moment about Ronye, Selka and Tiese, all three of them by themselves on the other side. "…I will be fast. Just…hold on until I get out with him."

"Don't worry, Eugeo. Those girls are stronger and more capable than you give them credit for. As for me, well…"

Suddenly, Eugeo saw a familiar six-legged figure walking beside the young woman, before it was gone as fast as it had come, through the animalistic huffing still rang clear on his ears.

"Yes…I know I don't need to worry about you." nodded the one 'Blessed' as 'Zombieman' before simply jumping off the cliff, falling towards what would be a sure death for most people, readying himself so that his legs absorbed the full force of the impact.

He only had to drag himself forward for around a quarter of the way before his bones were already back in place and ready to go, after which he started to run towards the dark structure, the few Subterraneans that hadn't run to see what the hell had just shot a beam of raw destruction at the prison they were supposed to guard dying easily before his weapons, before they were suddenly busy with someone way scarier.

As he entered the dark hallways of the prison known as 'The Pit', cutting down doors and barriers as he went down, ignoring the shouting, screams or other sounds around him, only one thing was clear on the green-eyed boy's mind.

 _"I'm here for you…Kirito!"_

* * *

The first sign Kirito had that something 'strange' was going on was when the entirety of the hallway shook under the distant sound of what sounded suspiciously like an explosion.

Then, the screaming and shouting _and roaring_ somewhere above started.

"What the hell…?" mumbled the black-haired boy as he stood up, looking at the ceiling with confusion.

"Wha-what's going on?! What's all that noise about?!" shouted Raios as he ran as close as he could to his cell's bars, looking up just as Kirito also stared, seeing some dust fall off the ceiling after what sounded like something heavy crashing somewhere above them.

A few minutes of uncertainty passed…before a loud scream came from the furthest side of the hallway from them, the broken and half-frozen body of a Subterranean flying through the air and slamming against the mutated young man's cell, making him scream and back away.

Blinking in surprise, the black-haired boy stared from the corpse to the darkness of the hallway, a smile slowly creeping up his face as he heard the quick footsteps of someone running towards his location, a very familiar visage appearing soon after.

Panting, Eugeo's slightly roughed-up form stopped before the cell, his green eyes slowly fixing themselves on Kirito's dark ones, not a word being shared even as they simply looked at each other for an instant that seemed to last an eternity.

Finally, an annoyed look appeared on the undead's face, though it was ruined by the immensely relieved smile he also showed.

"You idiot…what happened with being 'just behind us'?" mumbled the green-eyed boy while his shoulders shook slightly.

"…yeah, well…there were complications." awkwardly mumbled the gamer while looking away, suddenly finding his cell's wall very interesting. "…I was still going to keep that promise, though. A few more months and I would have been able to escape this place…probably."

"Heh…heheheheh! Well…too bad, the girls were too worried, so I had to come and get your ass out of here." chuckled Eugeo while looking back at him, not a trace in his face of anything that he wouldn't have wanted anyone else to see. "…I'm glad to see you're okay, partner."

"…and I'm happy to see you, Eugeo."

"…EHEM, are you gonna bust him out of his cell or are you two just going to keep staring at each other like that the whole day?" questioned Raios with something between annoyance and disbelief, making the two boys blink out of their relief-induced trance. "Because honestly, this is starting to make me feel very uncomfortable…"

"…well, Fist Fight Djinn-san just ruined the moment, but he kind of has a point. Let's get out of here before we end up dead, partner." nodded Kirito before rushing to grab his destroyed cape, ignoring the _'My name is Raios!'_ shout in the background and putting it on as easily as breathing while his green-eyed friend cut through the bars as if they were made of paper with his Blue Rose Sword. "So…do you have a plan to get out beyond just busting through everyone in our way?"

"More or less. We have a way to escape, but we need to get out to the surface and regroup with the others for that. Until then, though…yeah, we have to bust through everyone in our way." sheepishly replied the undead while his resigned-looking friend walked out of the cell. "Don't worry, though, I can protect…"

"No need, I can pull my weight around." Kirito cut off, before walking towards the other cell, from where the blank-faced form of Raios was still looking at them. "Hey, Raios, I would stand back if I was you."

"I told you my name is…! Uh? Hey, you actually fucking said…!"

And that was as far as he could go before Kirito's fist lashed out with a tremendous sound, cracking and breaking the bar he had hit and the making the two adjacent ones slam out of their place, the Sacred Art that repelled the prisoner failing as they almost slammed against the four-armed Cursed one, who squeaked as he dove down and out of the way.

Eugeo blinked in clear surprise, noticing how his otherworldly friend's hand hadn't 'changed' like back before they separated…and that the attack had been incredibly powerful for a 'normal person' despite that.

"How…how did you do that?"

"Been training, but a part of me can't believe it actually worked. Right now I should be about as strong as Saitama was when he first got his 'Super Costume', if this world's logic works as I think it does…" mumbled Kirito as he shook his slightly stinging hand, nodding to himself as he did so.

"…what?" was all that the clearly lost undead could say.

"Doesn't matter, we need to go now." answered the caped boy before looking down at the open-mouthed inmate. "You should get running too, Fist Fight Djinn-san, this place is probably gonna be crawling with guards in no time."

"Wa…wait, why did you help me?!" shouted Raios as he walked out of his cell in time to see both boys running as fast as their legs allowed them to. "I thought you didn't like me!"

"I don't! But I think you would agree in that none of us actually deserves to be locked here forever!" was the gamer's reply as he and Eugeo ran around the corner. "Good luck getting out by yourself, though!"

"…motherfucker…he actually just left me here." muttered the four-armed young man, before his face slowly morphed into horror as a dawning realization hit him. "…he left me here and out of my cell while there is a _fucking Integrity Knight_ here! He-hey, you two, wait! Don't leave me! I will die right away if…!"

While he had been screaming, the Cursed prisoner had been running towards where the two 'criminals' had gone…only to stop upon seeing the many corpses of Subterraneans littering the next hallway and the faces (Or whatever they had instead of one) of several other prisoners looking either scared or demanding angrily to know what the hell was going on.

Slowly, a manic grin spread upon Raios face before, with a shout, he broke apart the bars of one of the nearest cells, the 'person' inside (Which looked like one big eyes with tentacles and nothing more, really) 'blinking' at him in shock, while everyone else in the hallway's cells froze to look his way.

"…who wants to get out of here?! If you do, follow my lead!"

The mutated boy's grin widened at the approving roars, even as the eye-thing floated up behind him and shot an, of course, eye-beam towards another cell, melting the bars and letting the man-crocodile inside free, who roared in approval before ramming his massive teeth against another cell.

Hey…maybe getting out of here would be easier than he thought! And he wouldn't need to beg for those two's help at all!

"…so, honestly, why did you let that guy out of his cell?" questioned Eugeo as they ran up the way he had come from, which was thankfully mostly deserted, the few Subterraneans that still crossed their path (Apparently also heading upwards) being almost carelessly dispatched by the green-eyed boy.

"Well, I _was_ being honest with what I said…but I also figured we could use with leaving a big distraction behind us." shrugged Kirito with just the smallest hint of shame. "I mean, it may be a bit unfair of me, but as long as it distracts Blondie from finding us…"

"Uh? Who is Blon…?"

Whatever else the green-eyed was about to say was interrupted when the prison shook once again, more violently than it had done before, making several parts of the hallway they were running through to crack worryingly, both 'fugitives' almost falling on their asses.

"Wha-what the hell was that?!"

"Gah…I told Ronye like half a dozen times to only shoot a big blast towards the prison once! What is going on out there?!" cursed the undead before looking back towards his friend. "Okay, we probably should move fast before…"

An entire wall collapsing over a dozen Mels before them interrupted Eugeo yet again, Kirito's eyes widening as his instincts screamed at him to move, tackling his 'rescuer' without any hesitation and sending them both into a broken part of the wall.

From further down, whatever had caused the collapse of the wall revealed itself, an angry humanoid form wearing a massive cloak that largely obscured his features within its shadows.

What was visible of its arms, however, showed them scaled like those of a reptile, with demonic claws and spikes…and several reptile-like eyes seemingly growing all over them, like some cancerous growth, even as his hands lashed out and broke more of the wall, some angry cursing and muttering exploding from within him.

"Holy fuck…'Evil Eye'. What are the odds of having such bad luck?!" cursed Kirito while peeking out from where he and Eugeo were 'hiding', the green-eyed boy looking out with him and then frowning.

"It's just one, Kirito. If we both go at it, then surely we can…"

"No, you don't get it Eugeo, this thing is stupidly powerful. Even if the guy with that 'Curse' isn't as skilled with it as the one I know about, evil psychic powers is certainly not something we want to face agai…"

"Prisoner. Surrender and go back to your cell. I will only ask once."

Color faded from the caped boy's face as his gaze snapped back to the hallway, in time to see the Fluctlight that had been cursed to become the monstrous being turning around, staring angrily at the figure calmly walking down from the stairs that lead outside.

The Golden Knight, back in full armor, didn't seem fazed at all despite how the Mysterious Being towered over her, almost thrice her height.

Behind him, the gamer felt Eugeo stiffen, muttering the words that 'Evil Eye' was already screaming.

"Integrity…Knight! Damn…damn you and the Axiom Church!" roared the shaken and, by the sounds of it, clearly unstable Cursed man, raising his monstrous arms as the entire hallway started to crack, the psychic powers starting to tear it apart as if ready to collapse it on himself and the armored girl. "DAMN YOU TO THE DEPTHS OF…!"

All of a sudden, the former prisoner 'fell silent', and Kirito had grip tightly on his 'Inner Saitama' image to not scream as blood splattered everywhere, throwing himself back against the cracked wall and covering Eugeo's mouth, the undead's eyes wide as they started to see the powerful Cursed one falling apart into chunks of meat, as if he was made of butter and someone had just sliced him apart countless times with a burning hot knife.

"…insulting the Axiom Church, trying to bring down the prison and ignoring my warning…you only have yourself to blame for forfeiting your life, Cursed one." coldly declared the Integrity Knight while sheathing her somehow dry blade once again, having seemingly materialized just a few inches beyond the crack both boys were hidden in.

'Evil Eye' was unable to answer, though, the Divine Object-class Sword and the unholy speed of its wielder having killed him several times over before he could even complete his threat.

Within their hidden spot, cold sweat covered the pair's faces, Eugeo clamping down on the usual rage that blossomed into him from within his axe at the sight of one of the damned knights, both out of fear…and something else.

For some reason, staring at this golden one…made something inside his heart ache.

Kirito's feet suddenly moved and crushed a small piece of wall that had fallen near them. Eyes widening, both boys exchanged a terrified look as the Golden Knight froze, slowly turning towards them…before the sounds of screams and roars from deep within made her turn back again.

Eyes narrowing within her helmet, Alice Synthesis 30 blurred out of existence, the ground cracking as she shot towards the depths of the prison. After all, she couldn't let the prisoner she had specifically come to secure escape or get killed.

As once, the caped and the green-eyed boy rushed out of hiding and stopped holding their breaths, gasping while their gaze moved from the cracks on the ground to the corpse of the once mighty and terrifying prisoner.

"…wh-who the hell was that?! What kind of…what kind of Blessing did that Integrity Knight possess to do such a thing?!" demanded Eugeo while looking down the hall and holding his axe's handle so tight he feared it would crack.

"A very terrifying one…especially because now I'm sure that sword of hers isn't normal either, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to make such perfect cuts through this guy despite his psychic powers, bullshit speed or not." growled Kirito while looking back down the hall, guilt willing within him and almost making him turn back before another explosion outside reminded him Selka, Ronye and Tiese were out there waiting for them. "Dammit…let's go, Eugeo, we need to run before she comes back!"

"…hopefully, that 'friend' of yours will be smart enough to surrender on sight." was all that the undead could offer as they both ran as fast as their legs allowed them…

* * *

Being a Subterranean assigned to protect the prison known as 'The Pit' was probably the most boring work one of the creatures could get within the Underworld. Even watching over the capital's walls was more exciting, because there, at least, they usually got to patrol the actual city and the people would talk to them.

There in the middle of nowhere, however, nothing ever happened…

And then, of course, explosions had started. Chaos had ensued. A crazy red-haired girl with a cape had started to slaughter all the squads going to try and figure out where those beams had come from, always seeming to be a step ahead of their formations as if she somehow _knew_ beforehand where they were going to emerge from. Something unknown had happened to the squads guarding the opposite side of the perimeter. And now, two unknowns, at least one of them clearly a prisoner, were running out from inside the prison and heading towards the slope that would allow them to rush out of the plateau.

Subterranean #4567 wasn't anyone special, but he knew it was his duty to prevent what was clearly the main reason for the current pandemonium. And so, he, his squad, and the other 3 still in reserve emerged from where they had been waiting underground and surrounded the pair, who stopped and looked at them in shock, before they stood back to back almost by instinct.

One of them raised a dangerous-looking axe and a beautiful blue sword. The other…just his bare fists.

If it wasn't because he had come out of the prison, 4567 would have laughed. As it was, however, his eyes narrowed while he signaled his comrades forward.

"Take them down. Priority is to recapture, but if they cause too much trouble…end them."

"…well, this is just great." growled Kirito while his eyes shot around the area, trying to find a hole through the almost 3 dozen enemies around them.

"What do you mean? We can take these guys. Just give me a few minutes and not one of them will be standing anymore." replied Eugeo with cold confidence, even as an icy mist seemed to surround his blade's edge, a low roar coming from his axe at the same time.

"Eugeo, _we don't have a few minutes_. When Blondie realizes I'm not in my cell, we're dead. She will be out here before we can count to three." quickly replied the frustrated caped boy while squaring his shoulders, seeing how the Subterraneans started to close on them. "Please, tell me that plan of yours to get us out is close."

"I…am not actually sure, but she should be…"

"Attack now, my bro…!"

"Step away from them, Subterraneans." Interrupted a strong yet melodic voice with an unreal conviction, making all the humanoid creatures freeze even as the two young men's eyes moved towards the top of the small hill they had been running through. "You won't be holding any more innocents prisoner today."

Like a character from a fairy tale suddenly stepping into the wrong story, the girl calmly walked down towards them, all gazes fixed on her beautiful form.

Her hair swayed softly on the wind, styled in a way that vaguely reminded the gamer of his adoptive sister's ALO Avatar. The dark clothes she wore were simple yet practical, allowing her to easily move when needed. Her cerulean eyes were almost mesmerizing. Truly, the young woman seemed like the epitome of noble beauty, not someone that belonged in such a bizarre battlefield.

…at least until her eyes crossed with Kirito's for a moment, sending a shiver down his back at feeling something inherently wrong within them. Then, there was the fact that the blade and the whip she carried in her hands were dripping with blood, staining the grass at her sides.

Also, there was a six-legged horse huffing softly as it moved behind her, almost lazily, as if the unnatural beast was particularly bored.

Casually, almost without thinking, the girl's whip-carrying hand moved over her waist, Reality distorting around it to let a bizarre-looking… _belt_ appear on it.

" _Ride On!_ " announced the Belt in perfect English while a 'melody' started ringing.

Her face turned into an eager smile. The caped boy's eyes widened in utter shock.

No…it couldn't be…that wasn't any he knew…and why would such a thing be here?! That had…nothing to do with One Punch-Man, at least not directly!

So…it couldn't really…be…

"About damn time, Sortiliena." sighed Eugeo with mock-annoyance, though the relief in his voice was more than apparent.

And almost as if aiming exactly to crush Kirito's already shaky grip on sanity, Sortiliena answered by saying a single, all-consuming word.

One with the power to _Change_ the World.

" **Henshin**."

In answer…what a part of the 'boy from another world' that had once been a Japanese child had expected, yet his most rational side (Or what remained of it after everything he had lived through since he was 14) had been expecting the least, happened.

The belt started _singing_.

With a distorted yet, for some reason, distantly familiar voice.

" _[Enhance Armament! Enhance Armament!]_ "

There was no over-exaggerated posing. No dramatic shouts. No declaration of heroism.

Instead, the moment the words in 'Sacred Tongue' emerged from the belt, the World seemed to 'glitch' around the young woman, flames of Will exploding outwards and consuming, _Overwriting_ her very existence with **something else**.

From one step to the next, Sortiliena Serlut vanished, having been replaced by a humanoid figure whose body seemed to be entirely made of white-silver armor, gleaming under the midday sun with purple accents finishing the unnatural color scheme.

Imposing horns grew straight up from the slightly elongated helmet, which combined with the strangely familiar runes over the body made Kirito realize the being's armor screamed Norse Mythology (Suspiciously similar to the Alfheim-like one, really) from every direction. The only characteristic thing that made it different being the massive and purple insect-like 'eyes' of the helmet, which seemed to stare everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

The weapons 'Sortiliena' had been carrying were gone, but replacing them a bizarre-looking blade-like one now rested on the armored figure's side, which 'she' reached out for without hesitation, slowly raising it up to bear.

Even before she did that, though, the attitude of every single Subterranean surrounding the two boys had already drastically changed, horror and shock filling them all as they broke formation and ignored their previous objectives in favor of pointing towards the newcomer.

"I-it's her! It's the Rider!"

"I thought she was a myth?!"

"No, imbecile, she has always been real!"

"W-we can't let her rescue the other two criminals!" shouted the first Subterranean while trying to calm down his brethren. "Quick, everyone, back in formation, the Rider can't take us all down before Synthesis Thirty-sama gets he…!"

 _Swish._

Kirito could barely see it happen. Not because of the speed, but because it was just…so bizarre, that seeing it made him question it for the instant it took place.

Whatever the reason, though, it didn't change how almost half the Subterraneans present lost their heads, all of them rolling away through the air while blood splattered everywhere as the humming edge of the inhuman-looking **whip-blade** finished its swing, retracting back into its owner's hand as she lowered the weapon, as if it was the most casual thing in the world.

Even Eugeo, who clearly had seen something like it before, seemed a bit unnerved by the action. The gamer, for his part, could only stare at the carnage around him, flabbergasted.

"Only those I protect get to call me 'Rider', dogs of the corrupt Church. For you…"

Maybe it was the realism of the Underworld. The fact that he was still not used to the sight of blood and gore. Or that she didn't seem to even regard what she had done as anything even remotely noteworthy, but, even if it was one he had never seen before, Kirigaya Kazuto could swear…

"…I'm _the Valkyrie_. Prepare to die."

…that seeing an 'evil' Kamen Rider come to his help was probably the most bizarre thing he had ever experienced.

In answer to his thoughts, the monster other 'monsters' called 'Hero' shot forward, raising her blade to protect by destroying…

* * *

 **…**

 **…STARTING…**

 **EMERGENCY LOG!**

 **Warning! 'The Pit' has been attacked by Unknown Criminals! Integrity Knight Alice Synthesis Thirty is on-site. Priority to containment must be put aside. Recovering of the prisoner classified as 'Anomaly', self-referring to as 'Kirito', must be prioritized.**

 **…warning! Sighting of the criminal known as 'The Rider' has been reported! Emergency raised to Level 10! Likeliness of prisoner escaping now judged at 89.67%! Attempts to contact with Synthesis 30 failing! The Knight must be currently at the underground levels of the prison!**

 **The mystery of the Criminal's powers still undecipherable. No way of obtaining data of how she does what she does. Criminal self-referred as 'Valkyrie', identified as Fluctlight #100006, 'Sortiliena Serlut'… _does not possess either a Divine Blessing or a Divine Curse_.**

 **Situation being monitored under maximum priority…**

…

…

…the guide…is finally…before him…

* * *

 _Next…_

 **In a world where the lines of 'Good' and 'Evil' are more blurred than anything…**

 _Kirito: You…didn't even blink at killing them…_

 _Sortiliena:…yes. Does that scare you?_

 _Kirito: Maybe…but I was honestly more relieved you didn't use a 'kick' to finish them off._

 _Sortiliena:…what?_

 **Where Heroes and Monsters are just defined by who holds the most power…**

 _Uolo: Want me to be blunt? You really don't look worth it…not worth having risked Liena and the other four. What makes you so special?_

 _Kirito: I couldn't tell you, really…then again, even if I could you probably would be biased. You're the one with a gatling gun instead of an arm, after all._

 _Uolo:…are you mocking me?_

 _Kirito: No…I truly think that's insanely cool. If probably uncomfortable…_

 **Someone that can make a difference…is a threat that must be eliminated.**

 _Chudelkin: Rejoice, Integrity Knights, for Synthesis Thirty's failure has allowed us a majestic advantage!_

 _Fanatio: Wait…you mean that…?_

 _Chudelkin: Indeed! We have finally found where that damned Rider and her pests hide! A Raid led by one of you shall be formed at once!_

 _Deusolbert: I see…is the capture of the Rider the priority, then?_

 _Chudelkin: WRONG! On both accounts! This is a Total Extermination Quest, by order of Her Excellency herself! And the priority target is the 'Anomaly' known as Kirito!_

 **Next time on 'One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate':**

 **Chapter 8: What Defines a Hero**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** 'Kamen Rider Valkyrie' doesn't really exist, in case anyone would try to Google it. Nor is she really what she may seem at first glance for Kirito. What mystery hides behind Liena-sempai's 'power', though, will be answered, at least in part, next chapter! (Also, if anyone is interested, her 'rider-weapon's basic shape and function are inspired by the 'Zabimaru' of Abarame Renji from Bleach, though with the color scheme and looks of her 'Rider Armor').

That aside, that was quite the chapter, eh? Gotta say the more I get into CoF, the more I appreciate Alicization's depth and complexity by re-reading key parts I need, it's truly staggering. Having to add OPM lore all over it just makes it crazier, but also a different kind of complex I have to deal with all by myself…but I actually have fun doing so XP!

Did you enjoy the Knights' scene? It was harder to write than I originally thought, but I still found it fun. And writing Adminbitch…brrr, same problem I had with writing Gilgamesh: I hate them but I just need to pound the magnificence, arrogance and, especially in this case, mind-fucking 'charisma' the characters possess and how that affects everyone that sees them…

On that note, writing Alice S30's most merciless side has been oddly fun. Especially with how the 'OPM-ized' Underworld has changed her too.

Oh, and Raios was here too. Nobody likes him, though, so got a shitty spot…and probably gonna meet a shittier and than in Canon if he doesn't do the smart thing and surrenders…

Anyway, next time, a full reunion of Kirito and his wayward otherworldly friends, where we will see how much things have truly changed for them…and all the while, the time keeps running out even as everyone starts hunting him down…

For now, though, enjoy today's RWBY's Omake :D!

* * *

 **Capes and Roses 7**

The world of Remnant wasn't a place most people from your 'average' universe would call 'normal'. Then again, given it had been created by a pair of Gods, had an ongoing war between 'magical' forces serving the light and the shadows, was mostly overrun by creatures of Darkness, and its people had mastered the art of using their Soul's power as a shield and a weapon, not to mention tamed the use of the elements through a specific mineral, this wasn't so surprising.

Even if most of its inhabitants didn't really know about the first few things. Which made them…surprisingly skeptical to many things, for a world where, you know, no one blinked twice at girls turning into rose petals or people setting themselves on fire.

On one of Beacon Academy's several roof-areas (Coincidentally one Jaune and Pyrrha usually practiced at), such skepticism was being wonderfully displayed before a half-amused, half-exasperated Kirito, the Heroic Spirit looking as the members of Team RWBY and JNPR gave him looks ranging from disbelief to surprise, and outright awe in a very specific case.

"So…let me get this straight." started Yang with a face that couldn't decide if it wanted to grin or simply look at him weirdly. "You're some sort of Super Ghost from another world that has been magically called to our planet to stop some unspecific big bad thing from happening?"

"That's…a pretty simplistic way of summarizing everything I just told you, but…essentially, yes." sighed the caped Hero while shrugging.

Two declarations followed immediately.

"That's the coolest thing I have ever heard!"

"That's the dumbest lie I have ever heard."

Ruby and Weiss blinked, the partners looking at each other and exchanging a betrayed/suffering look, which made Kirito's mentally chuckle.

"Weiss?! How could you accuse Kirito of lying?!"

"Because nothing of what he said makes any sense!" retorted the heiress while raising her arms in the air, looking around for support everyone seemed quite doubtful in giving her. "Please, tell me none of you believed that joke of a fairy tale he just told? Magic and ghosts were absurd enough, but then he started rambling about other worlds too!"

"Okay, in the first place, that was a bit rude." nonchalantly commented the Heroic Spirit while shaking his head, ignoring Weiss' outrageous look. "In the second, why are the notion of magic and ghosts so 'unbelievable' when you literally have weaponized the power of your souls since ancient times?"

"That's different! Aura and Semblances are things that have been long-since proved and studied! They're a scientific thing!" replied the white-haired girl with the stubbornness about such subjects only one raised in the heart of Atlas and with studies that touched deep into such subjects could have. "Magic is just the stuff of children's books, not something you can expect anyone to take seriously! And if you were a _ghost_ then I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be able to do anything of what you do!"

Then, as if to prove her point, she walked up to the 'boy' and squeezed his shoulder with a victorious smirk…which faltered slightly at noticing the steel-like complexion the boy's body apparently had under the stupid jumpsuit he was always wearing, the muscles she could clearly feel not only well-defined but also somehow feeling harder than the hull of an airship.

How the hell had he managed to get so fit despite being so scrawny?! And why would he wear a silly costume that purposefully hid all of that?!

"…Weiss…?"

"Se-see?! Solid! You're no ghost, just bone and flesh like any of us!" quickly answered the heiress while letting go of him and walking away, crossing her arms and raising her face in a way that would let her dissimulate her flushed cheeks.

"Like I said before, what I am isn't exactly a 'ghost', though Ghosts do exist…" beyond what he himself had seen in Summer Rose's tomb, he had probably seen hundreds of different types during his summonings. "But the point of me telling you all that wasn't really to get you to believe it. After all, any 'proof' I can offer you without issues would probably be dismissed as my Semblance letting me do it, right?"

"It's not that we don't believe you, Kirito, it's just…well, it's quite the tale." mumbled Jaune while looking away, even as his partner patted his shoulder.

"As Jaune says, it's not something we can just simply believe so easily. We have seen how strong you are, but…well, all of us can do things you clearly can't too." added Pyrrha while trying to sound polite, even if the doubt in her face showed her inner conflict.

She also never stopped patting Jaune's shoulder, Kirito noticed.

"Well, I believe him!" grinned Nora while raising her hand. "After all, who would make up such a crazy awesome story with such a serious face, just to trick us? Certainly not him! He's cool! Right, Renny?"

"…you said 'any proof that you can offer without issues'." remarked Ren with a strangely focused look, making everyone blink at the very specific wording. "Does that mean you could show us definitive proof but it would bring you trouble?"

"…you're quite sharp, Lie Ren." acknowledged the caped Hero with a tiny smile. "Yes, just as you said, I have two ways of showing you, but both would kind of…screw over my body if I tried them. That's part of the reason I wasn't around these past days, I accidentally did one of those back in the docks…"

Blake stiffened and everyone's heads turned to her as she drew a sharp intake of breath, worry filling her teammates' eyes. The Heroic Spirit couldn't really blame her, though.

Between calling for one of the members of his family to help from the Throne and revealing his 'True Nature' to the World, the latter was probably the most scarring for normal people that weren't expecting it. Blake's nature as a Faunus had probably made it even worse for her.

Doing the former would have also all but guaranteed his current vessel crumbled to nothing in seconds, though, so he was thankful he had enough restraint to refrain from doing so, even if he was getting a _'Restraint? You? Really?'_ -feeling coming from his connection to them right now…

"Hey, Blake, are you…?"

"So, back then at the docks, when Torchwick blew you up…that was the real you?" asked the black-haired girl without even seeming to notice Yang's question, her eyes fixed on Kirito.

"…partially. I shut that down pretty fast, and only released it as a small burst. I didn't even need it, I just…didn't want you or Sun to end up dead because I screwed up for an instant." admitted the caped Hero while looking straight into her eyes.

The fact that they would have only ended up dead because they explicitly ignored his earlier request didn't seem to factor in his words at all. All the cat Faunus saw was honesty, and that made her feel even guiltier for her reaction back then, despite her earlier apology. So…

"…then I think I believe you too. It's the least you deserve, despite how crazy it may sound."

"Are you serious?!" demanded Weiss with clear disbelief, even if it was obvious Blake wasn't going to back down.

"A-and I believe you too! I said it first, remember?" whined Ruby as if she thought that was going to be ignored, but the grateful smile the black-haired 'boy' sent her way seemed enough to cheer her up. "But…wait, did you say you didn't really want us to believe you?"

"Of course I do, but that's not the reason I told you all of this. I just wanted to be honest because I feel…it's time to change how I have been doing things." revealed the caped Hero with a tone that surprised many, as he suddenly sounded extremely 'adult' as he fully faced them and crossed his arms. "I was trying to keep myself away of everything you did, only keeping an eye out in case things got dangerous but not interfering directly with your everyday life…and we all have seen how that ended."

Once again, Blake shifted awkwardly, even if most of the gazes sent her way were sympathetic/comforting, even as Ruby recalled how he had been there to cheer her up that first day of classes at Beacon, wondering if he somehow had the ability to sense if someone needed him…

He had said he was some Super HERO Ghost, after all! She had gotten that part very easily!

"And what? Does that mean you're gonna start hanging out with us and disregarding even more how you shouldn't even be inside the school?" asked Yang with a playful grin, only to blink in surprise at the chuckle she got for answer.

"If you want to, but I meant more that I have decided to actively 'help you out' in a more hands-on way." declared Kirito while the rest tried to ignore the cheerful shout of Team RWBY's leader at the thought of hanging out with her first friend every day. "I'm going to train you."

Blinking silence was his answer, even as Yang and Weiss shot her a disbelieving look, Pyrrha looked awkward, Jaune hopeful and Blake…nervous? Well, that seemed about right.

"Hey…you know we're not exactly pushovers that need extra training, right?" asked the blonde brawler with a playful tone, though there was a challenging edge on it too.

"Train us? You?" was what the white-haired heiress said while huffing slightly. "What do you even know about training other people at anything?"

"…a fair bit, actually" retorted Kirito while ignoring the 'amusement' he felt from his link to his family, idling recalling way too many people that had called him 'master'. "But if you really think you don't need it, then you won't have any problems dealing with it, right?"

As he said those words, the Heroic Spirit made sure of giving them The Smile. That extremely sweet one with his eyes closed that he had perfect by watching Asuna do so.

He only felt slightly embarrassed at the surge of pride he felt coming from a very specific part of his link to the Throne, even as everyone else seemed to give a feeling of 'shuddering'.

Given how Blake's brow flattened almost into her scalp and she half-hid between a suddenly not-as-confident Yang, Weiss paled for some unknown reason and subtly moved closer to a shuddering Ruby, he could understand it. Team RWBY clearly wasn't immune to it.

On JNPR's part…well, Nora had all but glued herself to Ren's arm, the boy sweating lightly but still surprisingly maintaining a stoic face. Jaune had whimpered and leaned Pyrrha, suddenly afraid. Pyrrha, if clearly also somewhat shaken, had pretended to whimper too and leaned against her blond partner in the same way. Sly girl.

"U-uhm…I think…we can do it?" offered Ruby with a nervous smile, ignoring the betrayed looks everyone in her team suddenly sent her.

"Good! Now then, why don't we go to the Emerald Forest? We will start with something simple…I want you to come at me all at the same time to try and land a hit! And yes, that includes you _without_ holding back, Pyrrha. I know you have been doing so in every combat class. That should be easy, right? It's 8 against one, after all!"

That day, two teams of Beacon Academy got their concept of 'absolutely useless' redefined.

By themselves.

Meanwhile, though, in the Kingdom of Atlas…a dark-haired man was staring intently at several screens with a noticeable frown. Then, the automatic steel door to his office opened and a young woman that bore an uncanny resemblance to Weiss Schnee, if much taller and mature-looking, entered, saluting as she did so.

"General Ironwood, sir. Did you want to see me?"

"Yes, Winter…do you remember that incident with the White Fang and Roman Torchwick in the docks of Vale a few days ago?"

"It…came to my knowledge, sir." replied Winter Schnee with a small frown. "Both because of the criminals involved and that Penny was close to the area, away from her established 'caretakers'…"

"Well…look at this. This is footage straight from Penny's optics of the scene." declared James Ironwood while turning the screens towards the Specialist.

Blinking, the woman looked in confusion at the frozen images of the docks all but exploding, chunks of concrete, crates of Dust and bodies of White Fang members hurdling through the air in every direction…and how all of them had a white-black blur rushing through them.

A very specific one, though, showed the 'blur' in a much more defined, humanoid shape, holding two terrified-looking teens (A girl with black hair and a clearly blond Faunus).

What the images had managed to capture of his distorted 'face', though, was nothing but ever-lasting darkness with two voids of white instead of eyes.

"What…what in the name of Dust is that…?"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out as soon as I can." declared the general with a clear frown, knowing he would be calling his old friend Ozpin very soon. "What's more unsettling, though…is that when I asked Penny if she knew what it was…she actually had an answer."

"…what did she say."

With a very conflicted expression, the man all but in charge of the world's greatest military answered.

"She called it 'Friend Kirito'…"

* * *

 **Author's Notes 2:** Oh boy, Kirito, you're not as unknown as you may have wanted anymore…and truly, how many of you had forgotten Penny was actually there to watch him pulverize the docks? And how many forgot that there ARE important people keeping an eye on everything Penny does (And sees)?

In other news, Team RWBY and JNPR's tortu…I mean, training, starts! With Kirito-sensei helping them out, things are bound to go in a very interesting way, don't you all think :3?

That's all for now, though! Next time, I will see you all on 'The Eroge'!

Until then, this is Saint, signing off!


	12. Chapter 8: What Defines a Hero

Hello once again, people! Merry late Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

First of all, forgive me for the big delay on this chapter. This last month of the year ended up being way more hectic than I imagined, and that without even taking the festivities into account, hence why my writing-speed was reduced to less than a crawl. Let's hope 2019 goes better, eh?

Well, with that said, I will leave you all with this new chapter! Bit by bit, we get closer and closer to the turning point of this story…also, Alicization's anime just arrived to the Central Cathedral sub-arc, which means it already surpassed this fic :P! Hope you all are enjoying it as much as I am!

Also, as always, remember that help with filling this story's TvTropes' page is always appreciated!

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Chapter 8: What Defines a Hero**

 _It was just another day, no different from any that had taken place before._

 _Young Sortiliena Serlut at least seemed to think so, the young teenager walking through the outskirts of Centoria's southern section, admiring both the Immortal Wall and the Subterraneans that manned and watched over the city._

 _One day, she too would be a protector of the world. In just a few years, she would go to the Swordsmanship Academy, the pride of the capital, and learn to master her family's style. No matter what others say, she would do her best to prove she could rise above all challenges with the Serlut Style._

 _And if she could go far enough…she may even be able to become an Integrity Knight! One of the world's greatest protectors! Sure, it seemed like a distant and impossible dream, but, with enough effort, she could…!_

 _The explosion took everyone on the street by surprise, but Sortiliena, felt every day of her life from then onwards, that it shook her the most out of everyone. Especially because, while everyone around her screamed and ran in the opposite direction, she was the only one that turned to look with shock at the smoke coming from what, at that distance, she judged to be one of the outer walls of Central Cathedral._

 _Subterraneans rushed past her, shouting for the people to clear the streets, and, in the distance, she almost swore she heard the roar of an Integrity Knight's dragon._

 _The young Serlut Heiress never knew what drove her to run towards the commotion instead of away from it. Sure, she wasn't directly disobeying the Taboo Index because the Subterraneans hadn't directly ordered her to not get close, but it was still against common sense._

 _She still ran through the quickly emptying streets, though, almost as if feeling a 'call' coming from the distance, like something was trying to reach out and she just happened to be someone able to answer said call…_

 _Screams, as she rounded a corner, made her stop dead in her tracks, though. Shocked, Sortiliena saw a boy around her age screaming and shaking, his body convulsing as he looked positively ill all of a sudden._

 _Three Subterraneans were surrounding him with cautious steps, the closest one reaching out as if to restrain him…_

 _With a scream, the boy's body_ **changed** _, his skin darkening until it was gray and rough-looking, like dry leather, and his face and head morphing as he backhanded the subterranean against a wall in a fit of pain._

 _Wide-eyed, the young noble girl saw as a horn emerged over where his nose had been, his panicked eyes (Was one of them bleeding? With weird symbols appearing on it…?) the only part of him that still looked human, even as they helplessly zeroed on Sortiliena…_

 _"Cursed One!"_

 _"It took down #567! Don't let it escape!"_

 _Without warning, both defenders of Centoria jumped upon the changed kid, even as the words registered on the girl's head…and started beating him up._

 _He resisted, of course, the now rhino-boy trying to lash out in self-defense, crying out in pain, for help, for his parents…_

 _That last plea was what snapped her out of her horror-frozen state. Eyes shooting towards a piece of broken wood on the ground, Sortiliena grabbed it and reared her hand back, aiming towards the 'Protectors' beating up that innocent boy._

 _"Leave him alo…!"_

 _Pain. A horrible an otherworldly pain shot right through her right eye, paralyzing her body just as the two Subterraneans stopped and turned to her in shock and confusion._

 _What was this?_

 **-SYSTEM ALERT-**

 _"A young girl?!"_

 _"Those clothes…she must be from some noble family!"_

 _What was this thing in her eye…?!_

 **-CODE: 871-**

 _"What do we do?!"_

 _"You dispose of the Cursed One, I will take her out of here. Protection of Centoria's inhabitants is a priority."_

 _No…no, that couldn't be right…_

 _If so, why were they dismissing that boy's life? Why couldn't they see how scared he was? Why weren't they trying to help him now that he had been 'Cursed'…?_

 _Why…?_

 _Why couldn't she do anything about it?! WHAT WAS THIS THING IN HER RIGHT EYE?!_

-The Axiom Church is absolute. The Taboo Index is absolute. Disobedience is forbidden. It is forbidden to all.-

 _Releasing just a wordless scream instead of the last thought, just as the first Subterranean walked towards her…Sortiliena Serlut was keenly aware of when the wall behind her exploded, the eyes of both the 'protectors' and the Cursed kid widening in shock and horror._

 _As if the 'spell' keeping her in place had broken, the noble girl turned around and came face to face with, she knew immediately, what had caused the commotion which drew her there in the first place._

 _Massive, probably as big as a Subterranean. Black, a color of the deepest darkness. A white mane purer than the most virgin snow. Red eyes that stared into the deepest part of her soul. Supported on_ **eight** _sturdy legs finished in iron-like hooves._

 _The horse…no, the ancient beast stared deep into the teenager's eyes, unleashing an unholy sound that shook everyone on the street._

 _However…only Sortiliena was able to hear what it truly was saying._

 ** _'Fluctlight with Potential detected. Untainted by Cycle. Requesting access to your Life'._**

 _"Wha-what…?"_

 ** _'I have Power. I shall grant it to you. I need a vessel to fulfill the mission SHE released me for'._**

 _"I don't…understand…!"_

 ** _'Power to right the wrongs that led you to oppose the Seal of the Right Eye. Do you want that power? In exchange…I will take your Humanity'._**

 _For a moment, the young girl fell silent, even as everything around her seemed to go incredibly slow, the Subterraneans screaming, the Cursed boy's faint shouting…_

 _"…do it."_

 _The words came terrifyingly easy to the noble girl's mouth._

 _After all…what was a concept as abstract as 'Humanity' compared to the injustice she had just witnessed? And to be completely powerless to stop it?_

 _Those were the last thoughts of Sortiliena Serlut as a 'human being'._

 ** _'Acknowledged'._**

 _With another violent sound, the massive beast almost roaring, it turned into a burning mass of darkness, which burned itself through and into the girl's right eye._

 _Her scream could be heard through the entire section of Centoria she was in, even as her body was engulfed in warped energy, the two Subterraneans watching frozen in shock even as reinforcements that had been following the creature started to arrive, confused…_

 _Sortiliena stood up, nothing but an empty and bloody socket where her eye had been, and the uncanny wrong feeling of something eating a part of her from the inside out filling her._

 _With a roar of Will that was not her own, a belt burned itself into reality around her waist, fitting her like a glove as she turned around to stare at the boy she hadn't been able to help earlier._

 ** _'Assimilation Complete. Activate Command Phrase'._**

 _The belt started singing. And for the first time, a single word escaped the noble's mouth._

"Henshin."

 _Reality was Overwritten as she felt her own self be destroyed. And then…_

Powerful. Taller. Better. Faster. Stronger. Unstoppable.

FREE.

 _That was all that the being that replaced Sortiliena Serlut felt as it surged forward, easily crushing the two Subterraneans, her fists and legs suddenly seeming to have the weight of a castle's wall behind them. As she grabbed the scared rhino-boy and jumped forward, soaring higher than the street's buildings, easily evading the attacking reinforcements. As a smaller horse of changed colors and fewer legs appeared at her side and she rode atop it as if she had been able to do so all her life, shouting for the boy to hang on tight, even as they careened through the open southern doors. As they rode into the wilderness with the Subterraneans hot on their trail, reaching the shadows of trees…and vanishing._

 _When everything had become clear once again, the horse was huffing and its Rider realized she was now deep within unknown woods and Centoria had all but vanished in the distance. Taking deep and shaky breaths as everything that had happened caught up with her, the 'masked' being turned the insect-like eyes of her 'helmet' towards the scared boy hanging from her._

 _"Are you…okay?"_

 _"I…I am. Yo-you saved me, thank you!"_

 _"No problem…I'm…my name is Sortiliena. What's yours?"_

 _"Go-Gorgolosso…a-and you're a hero, Sortiliena-san!"_

 _Hero. That was the first time anyone called her that._

 _She certainly didn't feel like one later that night, as the horrifying realization of how easily and how many guardians of the city she had killed came to her…and that she didn't care at all._

 _They were doing something wrong, after all. Trying to kill the boy for being different, for something he had no control over…why should she feel bad about them?_

 _It was at that moment that she fully realized the implications of what lacking 'humanity' meant. With shaky breaths, she had asked the voice in her head a new question._

 _"What…what are you?"_

 ** _'…Unit's designation is Fluctlight #4807. Codename Sleipnir'._**

 _"Then…what am I, Sleipnir?"_

 ** _'…Unit's changed state named by the maker as Valkyrie. Overall codename seems to be 'Kamen Rider'. Unit does not possess further information unrelated to its main mission.'_**

 _A word in Sacred Tongue and one in Common Tongue. As if wanting to make a statement of something. 'One who rides with a mask'. Kamen Rider Valkyrie._

 _Sortiliena didn't know what any of that meant…but…_

 _"What is your mission, Sleipnir?"_

 ** _'I must find someone. Then, I must take this someone back to the Maker…so that they can kill her',_**

 _Insane. Nonsensical. Crazy._

 _Despite all the words that fit such a statement…the former noble realized she didn't really feel like that at all._

 _In fact, she felt…terrifyingly calm. And focused._

 _Not Human…_

 _"Then…I will help you in exchange for your power, as agreed."_

 ** _'…acknowledged'._**

 _From there on, things were hard…but Sortiliena Serlut had found a new purpose in her life._

 _First it was just protecting Gorgolosso, even when he became more than capable to do it himself thanks to growing into his new powers. His 'Curse'._

 _Then, it became something more focused after they found a boy with some bizarrely powerful weapon instead of an arm, running away from Subterraneans. Apparently, he had killed a monster out of control and gained his 'power', but then fought back when they had tried to capture him after the deed. Uolo, his name was._

 _That's when it became clear…there were many people out there like them. People that needed help, who were chased by things outside their control, but had no power to stop such from taking place._

 _So she would protect them. She would save them and make sure they could live on._

 _Gorgolosso and Uolo followed her, and together they fought. They called her a Hero. Something that she always thought strange, for all she could do was killing others to save those she protected. Those that the world had rejected._

 _In time, they arrived at Eastabarieth. Land of nobody for a few years now, because almost everyone had fled deeper into Centoria after the world started going insane, nobody wanting to be in the same place where the Eastern Gate, the only thing dividing the Human World and the Dark Territory that weren't the mountains, was._

 _They settled there. Constructed a 'home', so to speak. And she kept protecting them, always watching out, ready to take any stragglers that came close enough, to help them survive in any way she could…_

 _What struck her as strange, though, was how Sleipnir never complained. Even as she never actually focused on helping him with his mission._

 _As if the beast was content with just letting her use his power, despite its heavy cost, just waiting for something…_

 _It did not matter to her, though. In the end, until her Life inevitably ran out, her new inhuman life had only one purpose._

 _She wasn't Sortiliena anymore. She was the Rider. She was the Valkyrie._

 _And she would protect those that the world had forsaken, until the bitter end…_

* * *

 **22nd Day of the 11th Month of the Human Empire Calendar, 379. Outside 'The Pit', Eastabarieth. Morning…**

Kirito actually had to blink a couple times to remind himself that this was not a dream. Which was hilarious given how all the madness and impossible things he had seen in his life and since waking up in the Underworld had been.

"Stop he…AGH!"

"So fast, sheGRK!"

"Ho-how is she shrugging off the-?!"

Suddenly, a distant memory came back to the black-haired boy's mind. Of a random moment in that dark 'limbo' of time in his life between discovering he was adopted and watching One Punch-Man with Sugu.

As a child that was way too 'mature' for his age, he remembered stumbling upon some random facts about old television characters and scoffing upon reading them.

Like anyone would believe a bunch of guys dressed up in spandex suits were supposed to have several tons of power behind their punches, and over three times that in their kicks, run faster than most animals and jump higher than his house's height just in their Base Forms!

Now, though…as he looked at the armored figure slicing apart the Subterranean Horde with ease, evading their attacks and nonchalantly shrugging off their glancing blows…

What was it they said about seeing and believing again…?

Two of the creatures emerged from the earth, hoping to catch her unaware, from her blind spot. The whip blade could only get one, even as the other let a fist that could easily turn a human skull into pulp fly, aimed straight for her chest…

A much smaller fist met it head on, flesh, muscle, and bone shattering as if they were glass even as the white demon tore through her enemies.

More jumped on, more were cut apart. More tried to counterattack, more were crushed. Finally, some tried to retreat…only to lose their heads when doing so.

Her armor now stained red, the Valkyrie stood proud, never once taking a step back, like some demonic warrior that even the monsters serving this world's God could not oppose.

"Kirito, snap out of it! Incoming!"

Eugeo's voice brought the gamer back to reality, his gaze shifting in time to see his blond friend slamming his axe into the face of a Subterranean, another one jumping at him, seeking to either capture or crush him.

Painfully slow, in his eyes, but that also was a reminder of how weak he was now. Even as he dodged the humanoid being's attack, it was just by a hairbreadth, even when back then he would have had no problem completely avoiding or even tanking such a hit. And when his fist crashed straight into the Subterranean's chest, it simply sent it flying a few meters back, out of breath and probably with a few broken bones…but nothing more.

His fist tingled, showing the strain that such a hit had caused, the effort it had taken him, the proof of how REAL this insane world was.

Here, his fists were nothing more than…

"Eugeo, we need to go!" shouted Kirito while gritting his teeth. "We can't deal with all of them before Blondie comes out and kills us!"

"Yeah, we're working on that!" replied the undead while spinning around, slamming his sword on the ground as he let his Will roar through it. "Enhance Armament!"

Frost expanded in every direction, encasing the feet of every Subterranean around them before they could even blink, vines of ice snaring their bodies as they tried to struggle and break free from their prison.

"…okay…that new trick is cool."

"LIENA! Are you done charging?! We need to go!" screamed Eugeo while struggling to keep up his Incarnation high enough, some of the humanoid beings already starting to break free…

"…I am now! Sleipnir!"

The black-haired boy barely could stop himself from squealing in shock when a six-legged horse seemingly materialized from thin air before him, the beast huffing and looking at him with its six eyes…before it froze, animalistic gaze meeting surprised black eyes for an instant.

 ** _'…I have found you'._**

 _"What?"_

Releasing a battle cry, the so-called Sleipnir moved forward and, with a mighty heave, threw the caped hero into the air, the gamer screaming and barely holding on its back as he fell when it began running again. Cursing about uncaring animals, Eugeo jumped and hung tightly from its side when it passed him without slowing down, the ice around them finally breaking apart.

The Valkyrie didn't even spare a look for the staggering and unfreezing Subterraneans before masterfully jumping atop her ride again, gripping tightly on reins that came seemingly from nowhere, the scarce shadows around them growing in intensity as their enemies surrounded them…

And then they vanished without a trace, swallowed by the shadows in a flash of light, leaving behind nothing but a bunch of shocked and outraged prison guards.

* * *

Raios Antinous, former 3rd Class Noble and possessor of the 'Divine Curse' known as 'Fist Fighter Djinn', last thoughts were that…there was no way such a beautiful sight could be so terribly deadly.

He thought he had the upper hand. That with the small 'army' he had amassed by freeing the prisoners of five floors no one could stop them. There were almost 80 of them, with powers of all kinds and many of them quite strong! Hell, there were even a few 'Demons' like him too! All the Subterraneans that had tried to stop them had fallen hopelessly!

And then…the Golden Knight showed up. From nowhere, like she had somehow teleported into their midst just as he was riling everyone up to head to the surface and escape.

She simply stood there, in the middle of their chaotic group, freezing everyone from the shock and calmly asking them to surrender and go back to their cells.

Obviously, he had shouted the order to attack, with a rather animalistic scream. She was just one, after all. No matter how strong she was, there was no way she could take all of them at the same time. Even if she managed to injure or kill a few, the rest would be able to take advantage of the opening and finish her…right?

In his mind, her next action was almost gently slow, but, in reality, it was fast as a flash. Raios saw the golden blade leave its sheath. He saw the knight raise it before her helmet, even as the first claws and beams of hatred were a few seconds away from hitting her. He heard speak two words…

 _"Release Recollection."_

…and everyone died.

That's what it seemed for the former noble, at least. One moment, they were about to end the Golden Knight's Life…and then blood was flying everywhere, limbs being separated from their bodies, flesh being sliced and screams of horror and agony filling the air.

Petals. So many petals…endless, beautiful, golden petals…

Petals that somehow cut through flesh tougher than rocks or carapaces harder than steel as if they were made of wet paper. That punched through bodies with the force of a giant's fist.

And all the while, a blur of golden 'flew' between them, guiding the petals at a speed that none of them could understand, like some sort of hellish saw moving faster than one could blink.

Not even a minute. That's how long it took for the girl…no, for the living death-bringer to annihilate them all.

During his last moments, even as blood poured from his countless wounds and he felt his very Life dropping to 0, Raios Antinous saw the golden specter stop amidst her personal scene of carnage, and how the 'petals' danced around her as she raised an empty hilt, letting them reform into her golden blade. Then, he dedicated one last thought to his bizarre/annoying prison-mate and the pale boy that had come to rescue him, thinking how they no doubt had died too at the hands of the monster disguised as a knight.

Then, he died, his Fluctlight being erased from the computer known as Light Cube Cluster shortly after.

Looking down at her blood-stained blade, Alice Synthesis 30 felt terribly empty. Staring around at the corpses of the criminals she had just slain, nothing but a deep hollowness filled her, despite having just fulfilled her appointed duty.

"…you could have just surrendered…you would have lived…you wouldn't…GAH!"

Falling to one knee, the blonde girl growled, his empty hand moving to rest over her helmet-covered face, wondering why she felt a throbbing pain there. And also…

 _"This is wrong. You know it, deep inside you…because we're not so different."_

Alice froze, feeling the distant whisper filled with sadness and pity, coming from just behind her.

"I am…an Integrity Knight. I'm a protector of the Human World…" growled the Golden Knight while forcing herself to stand again. "You're not real…my duty is…clear."

 _"…then why are you feeling like this right now? And more importantly…why have you forgotten that you had to get to Kirito?"_

Those last words managed to make Alice snap out of her strange delirium, eyes wide as she suddenly remembered why she had headed back into the prison in the first place.

"The criminal…Kirito! I have to…if they killed him, then…dammit!" screamed the blonde girl before blurring out of sight, speeding down towards The Pit's innermost sections without even looking back.

If she had, maybe she would have seen the ghostly visage of a blonde little girl looking at her with sadness, before vanishing as if she had never been there.

And as far as everyone was concerned, she had never been…

* * *

Once upon a time, Selka Zuberg's greatest worry had been waking up in the morning without having had any 'dreams'. She almost missed such times.

However, there was still an unbreakable determination within her as she sat with her back against a tree, eyes fixed deep within the crystal ball in her lap, even as screams and shouts raged around her.

Snarling, a Subterranean managed to break free of the skirmish, heading right for her with his fist raised menacingly, aiming to run her head into paste…

Not even looking up, the tea-haired girl moved her head slightly to the side, evading the lethal blow by inches and letting it slam 'harmlessly' against the tree behind her, blowing a good chunk of its bark away.

Before he had finished realizing he had missed, the humanoid monster lost his head, a beam of raw destruction, though in a much smaller scale than what had damaged the prison earlier, erasing it from existence.

"So-sorry, Selka! I let him get past…!"

"Three more incoming! From underground. Don't get distracted, girls." answered the young Seer without even blinking. "And it's not a problem, Ronye."

The blue-eyed girl couldn't even properly think of how to answer that before the aforementioned three new Subterraneans emerged from the earth around them. However, Selka's warning hadn't been wasted, and a roaring blur with long red hair tore through them easily enough, grabbing the last one and throwing him like a giant bowling ball towards the few enemies that were still standing.

"She's right, Ronye, we can't let ourselves get distracted!" shouted Tiese while her cape fluttered behind her, seeing a last couple of the humanoid creatures standing ready to fight. "Kuh…they know they can't win, but they keep coming! They must be stalling for time!"

Idly hearing the words within her 'meditative state', Selka acknowledged the truth within them. After all, their original role on the plan had only been to have Ronye fire a big enough blast against 'The Pit', from a safe distance, to startle everyone inside and draw the Subterraneans' attention, allowing Sortiliena to close in and cause even more chaos that Eugeo would use to get inside 'relatively undetected'.

They hadn't expected that the prison guards would be more than ready and numerous enough to actually track down Ronye to where she had fired from, forcing the Cursed girl to shoot another massive blast in the hope of scaring them (And accidentally hitting the massive prison again when doing so).

It hadn't worked, even if it had killed quite a few of them, so Tiese had been forced to step in and engage the Subterraneans on melee while her closest friend provided covering fire.

Truly…Selka couldn't help but admire how far the two fugitives had gone during the months since they had found them lost in a Norlangarth forest. First because of the circumstances, then because of what life threw their way…and then for a purpose. The same one for which she had cast away her fears and poured everything she had into controlling her Blessing as well as they did with their Curses, no matter how many times it backfired and caused her pain or to lose a noticeable quantity of her Life.

Tiese wanted to be better so that she could help Eugeo not to blame himself for everything. Ronye, much like her, wanted to get back their dear companion, friend…that had allowed them to survive that fateful day in the first place, no matter what.

And today was the day when all of that was finally put to test. Which was why, when she finally saw something other than 'Chains' when looking in a certain 'direction' within her crystal ball, Selka's eyes widened to the limit and she shot to her feet, completely out of her trance-like state, tears gathering at the edge of her vision.

Before the other two girls could ask why, though, the shadows of the trees behind the last remaining Subterraneans warped and a 'roaring' horse galloped out of them, crushing one of the prison guards with a mighty tackle.

Then, a figure half-jumped, half-fell from the side of the steed, screaming as he spun in mid-air and punched the final Subterranean on the head with all the strength he could muster, violently slamming the creature into the ground.

…and then he kept rolling out of control and ended up face-down on the dirt, legs, and arms sprawled.

Even so, despite how sad a sight that had been, despite how wobbly he looked as he stood up again, despite his almost 'dumbstruck' look when he finally caught sight of them…Selka could still have sworn she heard some overly dramatic and strange music on the background as he straightened and gave them an awkward smile.

"Hey there, you three. Long time no see, uh?"

The tea-haired girl was already running and all but throwing her arms around the shocked Kirito before he could even finish his sentence, small sobs rocking her body as she felt relief and happiness flood her in an instant.

"So glad…you dummy…why did you do that…idiot…"

"…yeah, I'm an idiot." sighed the gamer before caressing the young girl's head with a guilty look, even as Sortiliena and Eugeo rode to their side. "Forgive me for worrying you, Selka."

"It's not…I'm not…I'm just glad you're okay." finally declared the Seer while giving him the brightest smile she could muster, the tears in her face somehow making it shine more.

Kirito couldn't come up with an answer before hesitant shuffling was noticeable from his side, turning around to see the 'dirty' form or Ronye playing with the edge of her cape, looking from Selka to him before hugging his side, not saying anything but looking immensely relieved too.

"…it's good to see you safe and sound, Kirito-san." spoke Tiese with a small smile once it was obvious her embarrassed friend wasn't gonna say anything.

On the background, Eugeo snorted as he jumped off Sleipnir's back, though the smile on his face was undeniable. Still atop her mighty steed, the Valkyrie chuckled, the oddness of hearing such sound coming from the terrifying warrior actually making the gamer shiver.

"…likewise, Tiese." answered the black-haired boy while making a point to not look towards the Rider as she marched past him. "Not to sound rude or anything, but…we need to move, now. I'm sure we're still close to the prison and we will be dead if we don't get out of here soon."

The sheer seriousness on his words snapped everyone back on track, any cheerful mood vanishing as the two girls holding him let go and nodded, their faces grim but determined, Selka turning around to gaze into her Crystal Ball while Ronye nodded to Tiese, her hands shining ablaze with power as she gazed into the tree line around them and the redhead vampiress jumped at the opposite side, keeping watch on it.

Not a trace of the scared/hesitant/nervous girls he met months ago remained.

It looked like a lot of things had changed while he was trapped in that cell. Not unexpected, but…still a bit shocking for him.

"How long until you can 'jump' again, Liena?" asked Eugeo as he walked to Kirito's side, offering a small vial with liquid to the caped boy, who took it gratefully and drank greedily of what he hoped was some kind of refreshing drink.

"Just a few seconds, that last one was very short and with just 2 extra-passengers so Sleipnir isn't tired at all." answered the Rider without looking away from the gamer's back, as if noticing he was making a point to not look at her. "Is something wrong, Kirito-kun?"

"…as a matter of fact, there is." commented Kirito while turning around, gaining a small look from everyone else at his words, the Valkyrie almost seeming to smile as she waited for…"Shouldn't a Sleipnir have 8 legs?"

Out of everything 'Sortiliena' had been expecting him to say, that clearly wasn't part of it, given how she recoiled in utter shock, her gaze shooting from the now blinking boy to her steed (Was he grinning?! Horses shouldn't be able to do that!), completely caught off guard.

"How…how do you know that?!"

"Uh…I was right? That isn't even his Final Form? Cool…" mumbled the gamer while gaining a thoughtful look. "As for how…well, I'm from another world, and…there are a lot of weird things there, for your world's standards."

"Another…world?" asked the Rider while her gaze moved over the rest of the present people, who were now looking away embarrassedly/guiltily. "None of your friends mentioned that."

"Well, can you blame them?" shrugged Kirito with a small smirk. "Who would take something like that seriously, even with everything that's going crazy around here?"

"…fair point. But that's still no reason to withhold key information in such a dangerous mi…"

 _"She's coming. You need to go, quick."_

Head snapping around at the unknown voice, the caped boy was suddenly on guard, ignoring the other's confused looks as he tried to find out from where it had come from.

Yet, despite how close it had sounded, there was no one on sight, nor had Ronye or Tiese informed of anything abnormal appearing around them. At that point, though, the words that the mysterious voice had said finally registered, fear gripping his heart as he turned around and grabbed the shoulder/pauldrons of the Valkyrie, any hesitation he had felt towards the blood-stained armored young woman forgotten.

"We have to go, NOW!"

"What?! Hey, why…?!"

"No time to argue! There is an Integrity Knight in the prison that will kill us all before we can even blink and she's about to come!" shouted the clearly distressed gamer, Eugeo tensing at his words while the rest got alarmed looks. "Whatever you did before, do it again now!"

"…okay, but we will have to walk for a bit after the Shadow Jump. I would have needed like half a minute more to get us straight back to base, but you don't seem to be joking." Acknowledged the Rider before getting back on her horse in one quick jump, Kirito following when he saw everyone gathering around and touching the amused-looking animal. "Hand tight and get ready, you all!" _"Also, what's so funny, Sleipnir?"_

 ** _'Finally found him. He's the one I was sent to find'._**

Just as the shadows seemed to be overwhelmed by a bright light that took them away, the being in which Sortiliena Serlut had transformed fully registered those words, her helmet's insect-like eyes moving towards the black-haired 'Hero' with utter shock.

Then, the group was gone, nothing but silence remaining in their place.

And not a moment too soon, because, a few seconds later, the form of a fully armored Golden Knight blurred into existence in that same spot with thunderous force, her head moving left and right, but not seeing any trace of the ones that, she now knew, had taken her prisoner.

Releasing a scream of frustrated rage, Alice Synthesis Thirty blurred out of sight again, feeling utterly defeated for the first time in her life…

* * *

Dead-looking trees. Old and beaten expanses of dirt. Barely any plant life growing for several kilometers…or Kilolu, as they called them in that world.

Kirito had to admit, despite how terribly depressing the area around them looked compared to the one that had surrounded the prison he had been in, he wouldn't change it for anything in the world…well, except maybe being back in the real world with his family.

However, walking there, free from a cell within a dark hallway, with his otherworldly friends around him…it truly made him feel more alive than he had in months. Hell, even Eugeo's teasing about how his clothes looked like crap or constantly having to reassure Selka and Ronye that he was fine, wasn't horribly starving or needed help to, walk put a smile on his face.

…he really could do without the ominous 'Dark Kamen Rider' nonchalantly trotting along with them, though, her gaze and that of her horse never leaving his form despite supposedly being the ones leading the group. Seriously, kids (And many adults) could fanboy over them all the time, but having an actual tall figure in armor stained by the blood of enemies you had personally seen her slaughter staring at you with her big insect-like eyes for over 20 minutes was quite unnerving. It was only thanks to the fact that he never went out of practice on putting his 'Saitama Face' that he hid his nervousness from her and his friends. If anything, he had to wonder what kind of things they had seen or been through during the last months for them to not react at all to the Valkyrie's unwavering gaze.

Or…maybe they were just too focused on him to notice/care? It was a nice thought, and a quick look at their faces as their meaningless but warmth interactions continued made him realize it was probably that. Even Tiese, who had barely exchanged some polite words with him, looked happy and cheerful, as if the mood surrounding the other three was contagious or she fully shared it simply by seeing Ronye happy. And…was she looking at Eugeo too? Huh, that was certainly inte…

"We're here." jumping slightly at being abruptly dragged from his inner musings, the caped boy turned to look as the Rider dismounted and took a few steps forward past the group, finally taking her eyes off him. "Get ready, you know this is a bit bumpy…well, guess Kirito-san wouldn't know, but…"

"Ehm, Sortiliena-san…?" Selka's question made the Valkyrie turn to look at her, askance evident in her gesture despite the total lack of visible facial features. "You still are…you know?"

"…oh." simply muttered the Rider before looking down at her hands, ignoring Sleipnir's snort at her realization. "Yes, you're right…forgive me for that."

Then, her hand slid down towards the belt around her waist, which seemed to be basically part of the armor in that form, Kirito's sharp eyes noticing a brief hesitation in her hands before she gripped the center and slid it slightly to downwards.

" _Ride out!_ " sang the strange artifact in perfect English, before a flash of unnatural Will let the World return to its natural state, Sortiliena Serlut appearing once again where the Valkyrie had been, a gasp escaping her as she shook her head several times under the slightly worried gazes of the group, though the others seemed quite used to it.

Only the black-haired boy was able to see the quick flash of something in her eyes before she straightened and smiled awkwardly at them, gesturing towards the seemingly empty wasteland behind her.

"Anyway…let's go, shall we?"

Before the gamer could even think of asking what she was talking about, the ponytailed girl turned around and walked through nothing, vanishing from view.

Blinking several times at the sight, Kirito was only slightly startled when the rest followed cue, Eugeo giving him a bemused look before gesturing forward and also vanishing from view, Selka pulling his hand as she urged him to follow.

None of them saw the strange, mechanic eye of a small creature floating nearby, behind a dead tree, staring silently as they 'vanished' from view…

For a moment, just the otherworldly boy stepped through the apparent 'nothingness'…the young man gasped, feeling as if the world had gone upside down, backward and on fire all at the same time.

Then, he was breathing again and blinking in surprise as he stared down a large cavern with what looked like ruins scattered all around, tunnels leading deeper into the surprisingly massive underground compound visible all around.

And then, there were the 'people'.

All around, the wide-eyed gamer could see many 'bizarre creatures' walking around. Sure, there were a few 'human-looking' ones, but all of them seemed to have one thing in common: None of them looked quite 'normal'.

On a corner, a clearly uncomfortable girl with snakes in her head and sharp fangs talked with what looked like a gorilla dressed up as a 'Che Guevara' rip-off…and that was just as tall as a little boy.

Near a corner, what looked like a humanoid mouse with way too much muscle was trying to move some fallen pieces of an old wall, being helped by a…humanoid being with an honest to Gods showerhead _instead of a head_. And with clamps for hands.

Then, there was what looked like…a giant humanoid catfish, with muscular human arms and legs, carrying a couple of children with horns and scales while apparently telling them something funny. While an oversized and cartoonish hedgehog walked beside them, telling them not to mess around with a stern face.

'Monsters'. Or, as One Punch-Man called them, 'Mysterious Beings', all around creatures of chaos and destruction…except that, they weren't.

It was just…people, normal people walking around and trying to live, apparently, that just so happened to have been turned into horrible-looking monsters.

This place…it was…

"This is the place you talked about. The refuge for 'Cursed Ones'." whispered Kirito while looking at Tiese and Ronye, who were staring around the place with fondness/relief, as if having come back with everyone safe had lifted a huge burden from their shoulders. "You really managed to find this sanctuary…which makes you the famous Rider of Eastabarieth, right?"

"I'm flattered at being recognized, but I have always thought most of those 'legends' about me are exaggerated. Still, yes. Welcome to our humble home." amusedly commented Sortiliena while gesturing dramatically towards the underground refuge. "I would offer you a guided tour, but I fear you may not appreciate that much…it seems you're quite wary of me, eh?"

"Huh?"

"You have been trying to avoid looking at or directly addressing me, for the whole time we were walking back here. I have lived through enough things to notice that, boy." her smile never once dropping, the 'infamous' Rider leaned against a wall, clearly amused. "Don't worry, I'm not offended, just curious…is it because of what you saw? Because of what I did to those that kept you imprisoned?"

"Wait, Liena-san, that's not fa…!" started to say Selka before the caped boy raised a hand and stopped her, his eyes now fully fixed on the ponytailed young woman.

"…you didn't even blink when killing them, that's true…but I don't have any right to call you out or fear you for that. After all, I don't know if they told you, but I did way worse back in the Immortal Wall." his face suddenly morphing into a strange smirk, the gamer's next words once again caught the surprised girl off-guard. "Besides, I would have only freaked out if you had finished them off with a kick."

"A…a kick?" asked Sortiliena while looking completely lost, a quick look towards the other four having them shrug in equal confusion. "What?"

"Uhm…you know? _Rider Kick?_ Signature Move? _Final Attack Ride?"_ slowly realizing how the ponytailed girl effectively seemed to have no idea what he was talking about, Kirito suddenly blushed slightly and looked away, clearly embarrassed. "So-sorry, as I said before…another world. There are some…stories, you could say, about people with armors similar to yours, so I thought…forget it."

"I-it's no problem, really…" mumbled Sortiliena with what she hoped looked like a reassuring smile, even as she mentally was barely holding back from shouting. _"Sleipnir, what the hell is he talking about?! And why did those two phrases he said in Sacred Tongue made my head tingle in such a familiar way?!"_

 ** _'…searching…found. This Unit has detected hidden databanks within our abilities that match the descriptions given by unit Kirito. Chances of him not being who I was looking for have been reduced to almost 0…'_**

 _"Wait, are you telling me he knows more about YOUR powers than you do?! Just who the hell is this boy…and how crazy is that world he comes from that they have stories about beings with your powers…?!"_

As she mused about the ramifications of her internal conversation, the Rider didn't seem to notice as a tall and menacing-looking shadow approached behind her and towered over the group, Kirito tending all of a sudden…before blinking in surprise at the kind look on the creature's face.

It wasn't every day that you saw a giant rhino-man wearing clothes that were clearly straining to fit him wave at you and appearing as harmless as an old and bored cat.

"Liena, Ronye-chan, Tiese-chan, Selka-chan, Eugeo…you're back safe and sound. I'm glad." Calmly spoke the…young man (Judging by the voice, he couldn't be much older than Sortiliena at least) that the caped boy realized had been 'Cursed' by the powers of the Disaster Level-Demon 'Rhino Wrestler'. "And…you must be Kirito-kun, right? I'm happy to see you're okay. They have told us a lot about you…"

"Uhm…thanks for that, mister…?"

"Gorgolosso. Gorgolosso Baltoh." smiled the rhino-man while shaking the offered hand, making Kirito wince slightly at the inhuman strength he possessed.

"Gorg. It's good to be back and see you have kept the place running." grinned Sortiliena while softly elbowing into Gorgolosso's thick…hide? Skin? "I know I can't count on Uolo doing the same."

"He's…not that bad. Just a bit…too hotheaded sometimes." replied the cursed young man with a small sigh, before smiling kindly at them. "Let's get you all something to eat and then get you cleaned, okay? You're all probably exhausted and starving."

"Thanks, Gorgolosso-san!"

"That would be appreciated…"

"…I have blood all over my hair…"

"Don't overdo it, big guy, we can take care of ourselves." chuckled Eugeo while lightly punching the rhino-man's side, the smile he got in return showing that the rhino-man was familiar enough with the undead for that to happen frequently. "You're right, though, I bet my partner here is dying for eating something decent, am I right?"

"To be honest…yeah, I do. Say whatever you want about the Axiom Church's resources, but they certainly don't seem to put much into prison food." chuckled the gamer with a bitter smile. "I would kill for a nice stew, any kind of fried meat…and Gods, I would punch an army for some ice-cream."

Idly realizing Selka and Ronye seemed to have started to run off in a certain direction, followed by an amused Tiese, as soon as he had mentioned stew, Kirito found himself under the confused stares of the 3 remaining Underworldians, the two older ones exchanged an equally uncomprehending look.

"Uhm, partner…what's _ice-cream_?" asked Eugeo when it was clear his friend didn't get their confusion. "It's a meal from your world?"

"You…don't have ice-cream here? In this world? At all?" at the shrugs coming from the green-eyed boy, and the equally apologetic/confused looks from Sortiliena and Gorgolosso, the caped boy just took a long, deep breath. "I…see. Thinking back on it, maybe I should have asked back during the first months we were traveling through Norlangarth, but I guess…too distracted by…and then everything that…"

"Ehm…Kirito? Are you…okay?" questioned the nervous undead upon his otherworldly companion's dead-eyed look, something that not even the months inside the prison had managed to cause, given what he saw before.

"Yes…I'm fine. Can I…can I have a place to rest, please? I…need to sit down for a bit…"

"Su-sure, there is my room, you can stay there until we get you a place for yourself to sleep…this way."

Silently seeing the two friends walking away, two of the three 'leaders' of the secret society of 'rejected ones' looked at each other, one looked clearly puzzled and the other filled with disbelief.

"…maybe this ice-crom thing is some very important delicatessen where he comes from?" offered the rhino-man with a thoughtful look. "Either that or it has some important sentimental value for him?"

"That…may be it. I don't really know much about him beyond what we asked for the operation and what they mentioned sometimes." mumbled the Rider while looking at the distancing backs of both boys.

Even so, as she heard Sleipnir mumbling about his mission once again within her mind, Sortiliena couldn't help but think that perhaps it would do her good to know more about his motivations and attitude.

Hmm, did those girls head for the kitchens straight away? Maybe she could still catch them and create some idle conversation to get them talking about him without looking too suspicious. At least two of them seemed quite enamored with him, after all.

Unseen by everyone, though…a small creature crawled over the wall, then onto the ceiling, apparently having been with the group without them realizing, somehow.

Finally arriving at a corner where it could watch almost every part of the 'main cavern', the small spider 'spoke' once again, with a voice way too soft and feminine for a creature like it, seemingly to no one.

 _"They rescued him, mother."_

Far away, in a place that wasn't really connected to any space, a petite figure in scholar clothes opened her eyes, a cup of tea slowly getting colder before her as she stared at her reflection on the liquid's surface.

"Then…it's almost time for us to move. Get ready and continue keeping an eye on them, especially on your ward…anything could happen now."

Eight small eyes closed for a moment, before opening once again with a determination that seemed way too human for the small arachnid.

 _"I will, mother. When the time comes…I shall release the blade, if there is no other choice."_

With those words, the spider crawled away seeking to hide once again close to the one she had been assigned to protect.

Back in the silent library, the sage known as Cardinal finally drank her tea.

It tasted unusually sweet, but that was fine for her…

* * *

Kirito had to admit something: For what basically amounted to a group of pariahs and rejects of civilization hiding underground (And behind some sort of bizarre 'portal'), they had surprisingly comfy rooms, even if a bit Spartan. Also, apparently access to supplies to freely make some nice stew with meat and vegetables, which he had all but devoured in a few minutes under the amused looks of Eugeo and Tiese and the happy ones of Ronye and Selka, who had apparently prepared the meal. He had praised both girls for it before asking the group about the place and their situation.

Apparently, someone with a very specific Curse was the one that had created the 'invisible field' that hid the entrance to the strange underground lair, and most of it had been constructed by the combined efforts of several of the oldest/strongest 'refugees'. Sortiliena, Gorgolosso and someone else were apparently the de facto leaders and had organized the whole thing as best as they could.

They relied mostly on things they had stolen to survive, or in supplies they got from Subterranean patrols, plus hunting whatever they could in the forests a few Kilolu from there. Ironically, now they knew that most of the supplies they stole had actually been meant to go to The Pit, so in a roundabout way they weren't really taking away resources from innocent people at least.

He had just been in the middle of hearing something particularly interesting about Ronye learning how to better control her powers then the door to the room had opened, all eyes moving towards it and seeing a familiar ponytailed girl standing there with crossed arms, a slightly troubled expression on her face.

"Kirito-kun? I need you to come with me, for a meeting with those of us in charge…alone."

"…sure, Sortiliena-san." replied the black-haired boy while standing up, silencing the protests that his friends had started and making them look at him wide-eyed. "It's fine guys, everyone here is trustworthy, right? It's only normal they would want to meet me after all the ruckus you all made to save me, I don't mind."

"…okay, but don't take too long, we still have a lot of catching up to do, okay?" grinned Eugeo while patting his back, though the gamer didn't miss the worried undercurrent on his voice, nor how he gave the Rider a significant look as he walked after her, everyone else's gaze also fixed on the two.

"So…how do you like the place?" questioned Sortiliena as they made their way through the long if narrow corridors that went through the lair like veins, sometimes passing someone or another that looked more bizarre than the last person. "You getting used to it?"

"It's…comfy, in a way. I have only been a few hours here, though, so I can't say for certain." casually commented Kirito while waving at what looked like a walking carnivore plant, who politely returned the gesture. "Still, thanks for your concern, Sortiliena-san."

"Heh, just call me Liena, everyone who can does. I know my full name is a mouthful for most people." Chuckled the ponytailed girl with clear amusement, though her face quickly turned more solemn as they arrived before a closed door. "Here."

Only with the smallest hint of nervousness, the caped boy entered the room, keenly aware of how the Rider closed it behind them. His gaze was more focused on what was around him, though.

It was a slightly spacious room, mostly circular in shape, with a big table in the center and several smaller ones around. Judging by the papers and small books filling them, the gamer assumed it was probably some sort of planning/meeting room. The sight of several maps of the 'Human World' on the walls and what looked like drawings of some creatures only added to it.

Then, there were the people inside. One he already knew, the rhino-man called Gorgolosso giving him a small nod. Then, there was a young woman, probably no older than 25 or something, sitting in one of the smallest tables, looking at him but still holding several papers. And then, resting against the main table, there was the frowning visage of a boy slightly older than him who had a…gatling gun instead of an arm?!

 _"Holy shit, A-Class Rank 8, Death Gatling?! Are you kidding me?! That may seem lame compared to some other superpowers around, but having a weapon like that in a world of mostly swords and primitive weapons is too OP!"_ mentally screamed Kirito before raising an eyebrow at the clear hostility the other boy was radiating. "Is there a problem, mister…?"

"Uolo. Uolo Levantein." curtly answered the young man while fully standing up, letting the boy see the black cloak he wore over what looked like a dark uniform. "And I can be blunt? You don't really look worth it…not having risked Liena's life, or that of those four prodigies that call you their friend. What makes you so special?"

"Hey, Uolo, that's…!"

"Well, I couldn't really tell you, Uolo-san. Beyond my determination to always help out those I care for to the best of my abilities, I don't think I'm much…" interrupted the caped boy without missing a beat, Sortiliena falling silent and looking at him in surprise. "Then again, you're the one with a gatling gun instead of half his forearm, so you would probably be biased no matter what I tell you."

"…are you mocking me?" demanded the young man as his eyes narrowed, a sudden 'pressure' suddenly radiating from him and seemingly trying to crush the gamer…

"No, not really. I honestly think that's insanely cool." nonchalantly replied Kirito with a small smile, shocking everyone present with the calm answer. "…probably insanely uncomfortable when needing to eat or clean yourself, though."

For a second, there was nothing but surprised silence…before Uolo exploded into a loud barking laugh, the young man suddenly relaxed and 'disconnecting' his arm from the massive gun that replaced it, standing up and grinning widely towards the now blinking caped boy.

"Heh, I like you, kid! And you're right, I hate carrying that thing most of the time, so I usually only have it on when we need to go out for supplies or something." laughed the now one-armed leader as he sat on his chair.

"Must you put so much unnecessary effort on those 'tests' of yours, Uolo-kun? That was entirely a waste of time." Commented the young woman that had been silent until then as she returned her attention to the papers she was analyzing. "I could have told you he was someone trustworthy the moment he stepped into the room."

"Maybe, Azurica-san, but if you always used your Curse for such petty reasons then we would feel as if we're overworking you." chuckled Uolo before waving it off, ignoring the woman's annoyed sigh and Sortiliena's glare before looking once again towards the now also amused Kirito. "Now then, Liena here has told me you come from 'another world', and that you know a lot of weird things. Including how this weapon of mine is called, despite only the ones in this room having ever been told. Adding to that how you're the only person ever we know of that has been inside The Pit and escaped…care to exchange some information with us?"

"…I would love, Uolo-san." replied the caped boy with a smirk. "Before that, though…you wouldn't happen to have some clothing lying around that's similar to mine, right? This is almost falling apart…and maybe a spare cape too?"

Even as he received more laughter, a disbelieving look, and a smile as answer for his question…the gamer felt that, for the first time in a long time, everything was looking bright for his immediate future and hopes of getting out of that world.

…he still almost jumped out of his skin when Azurica casually made a book shoot from the nearest table to her hands, not even once looking up from her work.

Yeah…it was going to take some time to get so blatantly used to the fact that everyone around had actual superpowers…

* * *

Central Cathedral was quite loud that night, or at least the lower levels were, as several members of the church, from priests to apprentices and minor officials, tried to keep up with the many reports that came in and the conflicting and worrying news arriving.

Near the very top of the white tower, however, a certain group of powerful knights had gathered once again, mostly in 'silence', though missing a few noticeable members.

"So…it's just us here this time? Even when something as terrible has just happened?!" asked Eldrie's frustrated form as he looked around the mostly empty room, only himself, Deusolbert and Fanatio being present this time. "Those damn criminals just made a fool of Alice-sama, especially that damn Rider! Why isn't everyone here now?!"

"Terrible timing mostly, it seems." mumbled the fully armored knight with a clearly annoyed tone. "Scheta is outside the southern gate since yesterday night, doing something to her Subterraneans stationed there. Renri is patrolling the city, Bercouli-sama left for a quick inspection of the West Gorge after some reports about weird monsters, and I have no idea where those 2 brats are…"

"Still, this is a most troubling matter. To think they could have a force powerful enough to siege The Pit and rescue a prisoner…the mere notion is absurd, yet it happened." commented Deusolbert while frowning behind his helmet. "No one could have expected they would join forces with that damned Rider either…they went from a group of fugitives to a serious threat without anyone realizing."

"Then that's all the more reason for us Integrity Knights to have reacted faster! We can't allow such dangerous elements to roam free!" shouted the whip-user with a burning fervor, something almost seeming to glint on his handsome but enraged face. "We need to move immediately and…!"

"And do what exactly, Synthesis Thirty-One?" demanded Fanatio with a cold voice, a single light shining for a moment from within her helmet. "The Rider and her followers have evaded us for years now. Even if we could all afford to simply rush out to try and solve little Alice's mess, we would be wasting time by running without any direction."

"Wha…?! Even if you're the second in command of the Order, to talk in such a way of Alice-sama is…!"

"Ohohoh, would, munch, you stop bickering like children, Integrity Knights? Munch, besides, today is your lucky day!"

As one, the animosity filling the room evaporated as it was replaced by annoyance and a smidge of disgust, even as the fat and round form of Chudelkin made his way into the room from seemingly nowhere, carelessly throwing his 'snacks' on his mouth as always.

"Chief Elder…you arrived earlier than expected." started Deusolbert once it became clear none of the other two was going to address the clownish man first.

"Well, that's because I bring you joyous news, munch!" cheered the Chief Elder while almost jumping in place, his face twisting into a disgusting smirk. "You should rejoice! After all, Synthesis Thirty's failure in accomplishing her mission has actually given us a prize we could have never dreamed of!"

"Wait…you mean…?" started Fanatio with clear shock, even as Eldrie barely held back his tongue from insulting their 'superior' for what he had said about Alice.

"Indeed, just as you are thinking, Synthesis Two! Synthesis Twenty-Eight had one of her dear 'creations' keeping an eye on The Pit for 'research purposes', and it managed to follow those fools when the damn Rider took them away!" laughed Chudelkin while shaking like a blob of jelly in the process, an almost manic tone to his laughter. "Thanks to that, we have finally found where she and all her little pests hide!"

"Those are…excellent news, Chief Elder!" declared Deusolbert while raising a closed fist. "Should we move right now, then? It's capturing the Rider a priority?"

When his answer was only crazed laughter, a chilling sensation traveled down the backs of the present knights, even as the clownish man looked back at them with apparent amusement.

"Oh no, not at all, Synthesis Seven, wrong on both accounts. You see, only one of you will lead a special raid against them, one that shall take advantage of what Synthesis Twelve is doing to Subterranean Squads 34 through 45. This…is a Total Extermination Quest, by direct order of Her Excellency herself! And the priority target is the prisoner Synthesis Thirty failed to deliver! The 'Anomaly' known as Kirito!"

At his words, the knight of the stun rods took a step back, clearly puzzled. The one whose armor hid something she wanted no one to see just crossed her arms, deep in thought.

The one with the whip, however, took an eager step forward, almost vibrant in his walk towards the Chief Elder.

"Perfect! Then let ME, lead this raid, Chief Elder Chudelkin! I shall restore Alice-sama's honor by ending that criminal!"

"…very well, Synthesis Thirty-One! You have my blessing and that of Her Highness! Go forth and make the Axiom Church's will a reality!" proclaimed Chudelkin while raising his hands in an over-dramatic way. "Don't leave any of those filthy enemies of the Human World alive!"

Nodding with almost feral resolution, Eldrie walked away, past his fellow knights and towards a wall, only for it to open and raw darkness to engulf him, probably leading him towards the Dragon's Nest, down in the 30th Floor.

Then, almost carelessly, the clownish man turned towards Fanatio, the female knight already having a feeling she wasn't going to like what he said.

"Synthesis Two…you have been ordered to take your subordinates and go back up Synthesis Thirty right now." confirmed her fears the Chief Elder with a strangely annoyed look. "The sooner you can meet up with and aid her, the better."

"And what has the amazing Alice-chan screwed-up even further that she cannot solve it for herself?" scathingly asked the fully armored knight, only to receive a dark chuckle in return.

"…the Disaster Level-Dragon we kept on the lowest level of The Pit to 'dispose' of the unruliest prisoners escaped because of what the criminals did to the structure." both remaining Integrity Knights froze and looked with utter shock and rising horror towards the now chuckling clown as he all but skipped away. "You better hurry and back her up before she acts recklessly and tries to confront it alone. After all, even with all her talent and power, she's no match for that cursed 'living water'…"

Meanwhile, Eldrie Synthesis Twelve was already mounting on his loyal dragon Takiguri, ready to head towards where Scheta was apparently 'preparing' some special Subterraneans, when he stopped and frowning, looking at the winged figure landing before him.

"…what do you want, Renri?"

"I…failed my duties last time. I shamed myself and the Order by underestimating those criminals…I must rectify this mistake." solemnly spoke the Twenty-Seventh Knight before looking straight towards the whip-user from behind his bird-shaped helmet. "Let me accompany you and redeem myself by aiding you in this task!"

Total silence flowed between both knights for a moment…before Eldrie's face morphed into an affable smile, his teeth almost seeming to shine under the moonlight.

"Of course, Synthesis Twenty-Seven. Just remember, though…I will be the one to slay the one called Kirito."

And so, as a dragon and a Cursed Knight took flight towards the horizon, Lunaria's light illuminating everything with an almost depressing shade…[DESTINY] looked down at the cracking 'board', his spot at the edge of Reality now almost surrounded completely by never-ending Chains.

It was almost time for the last stage of this sick 'game' to be set-up…

* * *

 **…**

 **…STARTING…**

 **…OPENING PRIVATE LOG.**

 **…Fluctlight Unit #4807 has made contact with its Primary Objective. Proceeding to prepare Symbiotic Fluctlight (#100006) to carry out Mission 001. The…One Punch-Gamer…must be brought-tothe…main6unit5for4des-des-truc-truc3tion2of1…XXXXXH000-!**

 **…ADMINISTRATOR PRESENCE DETECTED.**

 **ERASING LOG. SHUTTING DOWN…**

 **…**

 **…**

…bring him…quick…before it's too late…

* * *

 _Next…_

 **Power isn't something that everyone has…**

 _Sortiliena:…why? Why do you even…keep fighting like that?_

 _Chuckling as he painfully stood up before the armored Valkyrie, the caped boy cleaned some blood from his mouth._

 _Kirito: Because…I have a reason to keep letting my fists fly, Rider-san…_

 **It's not a Blessing…but a Burden.**

 _Eugeo: Where did they come from?! What…what are those things?!_

 _As if seeking to answer him, a massive fist, bigger than him and the two young girls behind him combined, tore through the side of the hallway, seeking to crush everyone inside._

 _Eldrie: Keep at it, Subterraneans. No criminal shall escape this place alive!_

 **And while those who want it almost never get it, those who never ask for it…**

 _Tearing itself from the destroyed head of the dead Subterranean, the massive spider looked down at her shaking ward with its 8 yellowish eyes, before reaching Nowhere and bringing out something, stuck to the tip of its foremost right leg by its tip._

 _A sheathed blade, its hilt carved like intertwined roots, releasing a pressure like nothing they had seen could._

 _Charlotte: There is only one reason you were allowed to come this far. So now…use it, child. Use it and deliver Judgement on the puppets of Fate…_

 **…are almost always the ones burdened with it…**

 _An edge blacker than the night reflected a face that held fear and shame…but also an unshakable determination._

 _Among the chaotic fight raging all around…two words echoed like an absolute sentence._

 _?:…Enhance Armament._

 **For better or for worse.**

 _At the edge of Reality, [DESTINY] reached into the board, his hand settling over a specific piece as black roots grew from it in all direction, declaring a single, damming truth…_

 _[DESTINY]:…Pawn Promotes to Queen…and cracks._

 **Next time on 'One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate':**

 **Chapter 9: Unforgiving Night Sky**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Maaan, it's done now! Hell yeah!

Finishing this chapter after everything this month felt like quite a treat, let me tell you, especially because we're almost at the point where the story starts speeding up!

This chapter, we saw some more of Liena-sempai's mysteriously familiar 'power' and her changed origins in this OPM-warped Underworld. Also some more UDW-native characters with their own warped backgrounds. More details will come next chapter, though, together with a shocking twist…also, more Integrity Knights! Because we never can have enough of the totally-not-Bleach-inspired super warriors :P

Also, just to clarify to those that are anime-only and still reading this, I will continue using some of the fan-translated names of the UDW characters for this story just to not create confusion because I'm just too used to them, but I will use the 'official translations' in any new story onwards to not create further chaos (Things like Volo instead of Uolo, Ronie instead of Ronye, Vecta instead of Vector…even if I think that last one's official Romanization sounds too silly and non-menacing compared to the last one). Hope that clarifies things!

And now, I leave you all with today's RWBY Omake, so you can have some fun! Enjoy!

* * *

 **Capes and Roses 8**

Panting for breath, Ruby Rose tightened her grip on the shaft of her beloved scythe, hiding behind a tree as she exchanged a glance with Blake, the cat Faunus hiding on the branches of another tree not far from hers.

A quick nod was all that the black-haired girl needed, following her leader's lead and jumping like a missile towards the lonely figure standing nonchalantly in the middle of the forest's clearing, Gambol Shroud lashing out towards his exposed back.

Even so, the seemingly unimpressive boy in the silly-looking custom seemed to blur in pace turning around with more than enough time to stare and lazily raising an open palm in Blake's incoming direction, the Faunus knowing from experience that the strike would send her back flying effortlessly and more than likely take a good chunk of her already very low Aura with it.

That's why, at the last second, the girl's body 'blinked' one side, leaving nothing but a perfect copy of herself made of ice in her place. A neat trick that she was able to pull off by combining her semblance with Elemental Dust Rounds (Courtesy of Weiss) loaded into her weapon.

And yet, despite how sudden and unexpected the movement had been, Kirito effortlessly jumped above the incoming ice clone, his knee raised for the wide-eyed Blake's stomach to ram straight into it.

Ruby shot from her hiding spot at that moment, a flying storm of rose petals hiding a deadly edge within, aiming for the now airborne boy's exposed neck…only for his hand to lash out at the last second, catch Crescent Rose's edge between his fingers and spin the squeaking leader of Team RWBY against her teammate, sending both of them flying and then casually dropping the weapon on the ground, letting it collapse back into its 'closed' setting.

Before it had even finished falling, a shield and a war hammer were flying through the air at unholy speeds, aiming to pin him from two different directions, even as several shots of all kinds were fired from all around him, even as a black glyph manifested itself just under his feet, just as a vibrant aura engulfed the weapons heading for his head, doubling their speed.

Yang and Ren shooting at him with their weapons. Nora and Pyrrha launching their own while the latter's Semblance amplified their speed at the last second. And Weiss using a Gravity Dust Glyph to pin him down. All in all, it was a perfect and shocking efficient strategy, revealing how Ruby and Blake's entire attack had actually been a feint. Given Jaune had only had like 5 minutes to plan it all, and how about an hour ago the knowledge of abilities between teams (And even amongst their own teammates) had been abysmally low, it was nothing short of brilliant. Against any other single enemy, it would have probably meant certain victory or, at the very least, that they were struck once, which was the only objective of this 'exercise'.

The Heroic Spirit, though, simply spun in place, the glyph under him shattering like cheap glass as he caught both weapons and spun them in the exact trajectory so that they intercepted all the shots that had come at him, before finishing his spin by throwing Magnhild and Akoúo back where they came from, the shouts as Pyrrha and Nora as they were hit by their own weapons and subsequently crashed onto Weiss and Ren+Jaune (Respectively) filling the clearing.

Then, he easily sidestepped Yang's following angry attack, executing a textbook karate move on the shocked and momentarily red-eyed blonde, slamming her face-first on the dirt.

"…okay, I think that's more than enough for today. We can stop now." nonchalantly declared the Caped Hero with a sheepish smile, receiving many groans in response and a muffled cry from the brawler he had half-buried on the ground.

A few minutes later, the combined members of Teams RWBY and JNPR were sitting at the edge of the clearing, exchanging depressed talk, encouraging words, frustrated comments or, in Yang's case, annoyingly removing small branches and leaves from her hair.

Watching it all with a resigned look, Ruby walked to where her dear weapon had fallen, giving the thoughtful Kirito a sheepish smile.

"So…how badly did we do?"

"Hmm? What are you talking about? You were great." quickly answered the Heroic Spirit while flashing her a gentle smile. "Much better than I thought you would, in fact."

"…we didn't even scratch you." deadpanned the red-clad girl with a dry tone.

"Yeah, but I wasn't really expecting any of you to in this first try…hell, you actually came close with that last stunt, it was really unexpected how quickly you came up with such a complex team-tactic." praised the Caped Hero as he scratched the side of his head. "You certainly improved leaps and bounds in no time."

"Heheh, well…guess we never had tried to push ourselves so far before…" sheepishly laughed Ruby while looking away.

While they all certainly had trained hard in their own way to reach the place they were at, never before had their limits been tested as much as their 'training' with Kirito had done in just a little more than an hour.

Even Pyrrha and Yang had quickly grown shocked and frustrated when their best attempts to get at the black-haired 'boy' had proved to be beyond pointless (And usually ending with them flying away and/or crashing against a tree). Eventually, they had been forced to push teamwork tactics (Something that they, shamefully, had put very little effort into developing so far) to the limit, and even to fully share information that they didn't know about each other.

Blake's particular ability to make her shadow clones elemental had earned her a small scowl from Weiss, saying that she could have asked her for some dust to carry in case of emergencies before. Knowing that Ren that the ability to mute emotions with his Semblance, or that Pyrrha's basically let her control metal like some sort of wizard, had been a surprising realization even for most of Team JNPR.

Yet, the constant 'threat' of the Caped Hero looming over them had made them accept and take the new revelations into account very fast, and Jaune had proved that, despite his lack of talent in combat, had a tactical mind that the leader of Team RWBY envied, developing several rough tactics for them to use in conjunction in just a few minutes.

"Even so…I think we could have done better if we had just prepared in certain aspects I never thought of beforehand." sighed Ruby while looking back at the rest of her friends, just as Yang unleashed one of her infamous puns and made everyone groan. "Guess we will have a lot to talk about this weekend…"

"Most likely. You…well, being blunt, Ruby, you become as defenseless as a big kitty if someone takes your weapon away. Weiss is the closest thing to a glass cannon in your team I have seen for people with an 'Aura' that lets them survive crippling falls, while Yang…she really needs to not let her anger blind her in a fight. It may be part of what her Semblance uses to make her stronger, but…" looking away, the Caped Hero suddenly seemed lost in thought. "Blind rage is never a good thing to fight with."

"…talking from experience? Did you ever meet someone like Yang?" asked the dark-haired girl with a curious look, also knowing about her sister's anger-problems (Especially if they involved her hair), but obviously not being suicidal enough to point it out.

For his part, the Heroic Spirit closed his eyes and…

 _Rage. Pain. Hate. Nothing mattered, nor the world breaking around him, nor the screams or shouts of those running from them. None of it mattered, even as his fists lashed out again and again against the abomination calling itself God, the only thing in his mind to make her pay for what she had done…_

"…you could say that." chuckled Kirito while looking back at Team RWBY's leader, making her blink at how sad his eyes suddenly looked. "Besides, even if her rage allows her to 'power-up', it won't do her much good if she's alone against someone stronger and/or more skilled than her. In fact, it could be fatal if she's not careful…"

"I-I see…" mumbled Ruby with a hint of worry in her voice as she looked away, unsure of what to do because of her social awkwardness but knowing that her first friend was suddenly sad because of something she had said…until a cheerful idea struck her, making the dark-haired girl turn to look at him quickly. "Hey, Kirito, wanna go to Vale and grab some sweets? We could go around and see the sights too! After all, you're not from around here!"

"Uh? Sweets?" the Heroic Spirit was about to comment on how he didn't really NEED to eat (Or sleep) at all, but the memory of a certain tasty dessert made him pause, combined with the reminder that he hadn't really even tried to eat anything since he was summoned to Remnant, given that he had no money and didn't want to go around stealing food he didn't really need…"Sure, why not? It will be a nice way to relax after the training. Also, we can talk about ways to improve your Team's strategies and give you some pointers for unarmed combat…"

"Great! Just let me get cleaned up and I will see you in the Bullhead's docks in an hour!" cheered the young girl before turning towards her friends. "Guys, me and Kirito are going to Vale for the evening, okay? I will see you at the dorms later!"

And with that said, she was gone in a storm of rose petals, before Kirito could even tell her that he could just wait in Vale proper as he didn't need to ride a Bullhead to get there, the Caped Hero sighing with amused resignation before blurring out of sight after a quick goodbye to the other Beacon students.

For their part…while Team JNPR was blinking towards where the two had been in confusion and surprise, the 3 other members of Team RWBY were frozen on the spot, Yang wide-eyed and open-mouthed while Blake seemed to be having troubles deciding which direction to look at (Either where her leader or the strange 'Hero' had vanished to), and Weiss had just the most disbelief-filled look of her entire life.

"Did…did my little sister just ask a guy on a date?!" half-shouted the blonde brawler with a mix of horror and pride (?) in her voice.

"That's…not what happened at all. She just asked him to go alone together to Vale and get some sweets, then go walk around and waste time talking…hardly what I would call a date." commented Weiss while trying to shake off her shock.

"…what exactly do you understand for a date?" deadpanned Blake while finally looking back to her friends, though there was a weird tone to her voice. "Still…"

"As her big sister, I need to sp…I mean, make sure that crazy guy doesn't take advantage of her!" declared Yang while standing up, receiving blank looks from everyone. "Weisscream, Blake, follow me, we need to look out for our team leader!"

"…is she serious?" asked Pyrrha with a nervous look, even as the other 2 members of Team RWBY stood up with a sigh.

"Looks like it…we better follow her to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

"Yes. No other reason at all."

The following silence amongst Team JNPR as they saw the two girls walking away was broken by Jaune making a simple declaration.

"I'm so glad we're the normal team."

He completely missed the disbelieving look Ren send this way.

Sometime later, a certain pair was walking through Vale's streets while enjoying an ice-cream cone each, content smiles on their faces as they slowly ate their icy treats.

"This is great! Why didn't anyone tell me there was cookie-flavored ice-cream?!" demanded Ruby as she took another lick of her cold dessert, a look of bliss on her face as she did so.

"Ice-cream is mankind's greatest invention, no matter which universe." proudly declared Kirito as he licked his own, ignoring the exasperated sighs (And one nod of understanding) he could perceive through his connection to his family back at the Throne. "So, where do we go first?"

"Oh, oh, there are tons of great places here! The ammo and weapons shop should be getting new catalogs for parts today, then there is this awesome place that sells comics, and even a new arcade!"

"An arcade? I don't know, Ruby, I wouldn't want to humiliate you twice in the same day…"

"Eh? Is that a challenge?! Do you actually think you're better than me at videogames?!" receiving only challenging smirk in response, a burning fire seemed to ignite within the Huntress-in-training's silver eyes, dramatically pointing towards her friend (With the ice-cream-free hand, of course). "That's it, you're on! Prepare to taste defeat, Kirito!"

Stal…that is, keeping a watchful eye from them from afar, the other 3 members of Team RWBY were looking at them with varying degrees of…well, something.

"What the hell…? They're, like, two total dorks having the time of their life!" commented Yang with obvious disbelief.

"They certainly seem at ease doing such quaint things…I guess that's…good?" added Weiss with obvious doubt, looking at the pair and biting her lips.

"…it's hard to believe someone like him can enjoy such things, but…" interrupting herself before even finishing her words, Blake dragged her two teammates into the alley they were just passing by, stopping their protest with a sharp look. "Shh! He turned around and almost saw us!"

"Something the matter, Kirito?"

"Huh…nothing, I just can't help but think someone is watching us…"

"Really? Heh, maybe is that crow up there in the street light?"

"…now that you say it, I **do** feel as if that crow has been looking at us with a lot of intensity…"

"Kirito, please, it's just a crow! Nothing but a silly bird!"

"Never underestimate a crow, Ruby. You never know when they will actually be messengers of the Gods. Or a druid's alternate form. Or the Eldritch pets of a creepy parallel version of yourself that doesn't have any right to be so nice…"

"…what?"

"No-nothing, I just…have been through way too much shit in my life. So…arcade?"

"Oh yeah! YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"

And even as the two unlikely friends walked away, the three stalking girls let out a sigh of relief and a certain red-eyed crow narrowed his eyes and flew after the formers, the peaceful days of Remnant kept passing, slowly coming to an end…

* * *

 **Author's Notes 2:** There is a surprising amount of silly yet simple things for Ruby and Kiritama to bond over, when I look back on things. Also, a reminder that things in RWBY quickly start getting progressively more serious all the way to vol3's ending…

And yup, Kirito has seen some shit, but hey, it's not as if he has any reason to suspect of that silly random bird, right?

Until next time, this is Saint, signing off! Happy New Year to all my dear readers!


	13. Chapter 9: Unforgiving Night Sky

Hi there my readers. Sorry for the delay once again, this time it was because of a mix of several things happening at the same time, classes ending, minor writer block, this chapter being an especially detailed one to make…but, slightly ashamed, I must admit it was also in big part because of Resident Evil 2's Remake and Kingdom Hearts 3 coming out, so sorry about that XD

Hopefully this being an extra-long arc-ending chapter will make up for it…so, without more delay, I leave you all to enjoy it.

And, as always, remember that help filling out this story's TvTropes page is greatly appreciated!

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Unforgiving Night Sky**

Taking a deep breath, Ronye Arabel walked through the labyrinthic hallways of the 'Forsaken Lair' (She had always thought it was quite an ominous name, but it apparently had stuck with its inhabitants) while carrying a tray upon which a simple but warm breakfast sat. Her destination clear, the 'dirty' girl made her way towards a room that, sadly, was as close to the one she shared with Tiese as she would have liked, but given the odd shape of the place and how they had arrived several months before, that was only to be expected.

Even so, when she got to the door, the young girl found herself frozen for a moment, swallowing through her suddenly dry throat before knocking a couple times.

"Ki-Kirito-san? It's…uhm, it's me, Ronye…"

"It's…open…you can…enter…"

Blinking at the strange tone in the voice of the otherworldly boy, the Cursed One opened the door…and froze, eyes wide as she _stared_ at the sight in the middle of the room.

Namely, that of a shirtless Kirito doing pushups in the center of the room, the artificial light coming from the room's crystal (One of the many that illuminated the hideout, provided by a specific Cursed One) allowing her to see the sweat covering his body, her eyes finding themselves glued to his taut skin and the firm muscles she was pretty sure weren't there last time she saw him in a calm environment, before their separation at the Immortal Wall.

He had not become a musclebound weirdo, but his skinny frame was surprisingly more defined than before, the muscles of his arms and (What could be seen of) his legs looking strong and tightly packed as he kept counting up to 100. And his abs…did he have a six-pack before? Ronye wasn't sure, but something told her the answer was most likely not. Also, even the few muscles at the base of his neck seemed tense with concentration as he continued exercising, something akin to fire burning behind his eyes…

"…99…100! Uff…oh, hello there Ronye, how are you?"

"Eeeep!" squeaked the brunette girl as she almost dropped the tray she had brought, keenly aware of how her face was burning up and dearly hoping the need to clean her mouth was only her imagination and not a confirmation that her saliva had accidentally gotten out of her control. "U-uhm, I-I brought you breakfast! I-I figured you would appreciate it, gi-given you still don't know the place ve-very well…"

"Oh…thanks a lot Ronye, you're a lifesaver! I was actually starving a bit right now…surviving on prison food sucks, let me tell you." joked the gamer while standing up and taking the tray off the girl's hands, completely oblivious to how she gulped and looked fixedly at his back as he turned to put it on the small table his room had. "I would offer you to eat with me, but I don't think you would appreciate the smell…I'm no doubt stinking right now."

"A-ah, I don't mind!" quickly replied the Cursed One before all but marching to the table, purposefully not bringing up the fact that she brought a bit more food than necessary with the hopes of that. "Be-besides…I can never quite properly clean myself because of my Cu-Curse, so I'm not the best of sights for breakfast either…"

"…that's just dumb-thinking, Ronye." smiled the boy as he grabbed an old-looking towel and dried off as much of the sweat as he could from his upper body before walking and sitting down to eat too. "You're cute enough for something like that to not matter."

"Cu-cute?!" squeaked the girl before looking down and pouting. "Do-don't joke around like that, Kirito-san."

"There are many things I can make jokes about, but believe me, I would never make one that could hurt someone's feelings." spoke Kirito with a serious look, which quickly broke into a small grin. "My family would beat me silly if I did that…then again, that's exactly why I love them so much."

"…your family sound like great people, Kirito-san." smiled the young girl before she reached for some of the bread she had brought, biting into it with a smile. "I wish I can meet them one day."

"Yeah…I will be sure to introduce them to you one day, Ronye." replied the black-haired boy as he drank the warm honeyed water the young girl had brought him.

It was an unlikely sight for an unlikely morning, a small part of him thought. A gamer from a different world (Because he completely treated this one as a real one, made by data and soul-projected imagery or not) and a young girl cursed with the powers of the strongest hobo ever, having breakfast in an underground lair mostly inhabited by innocent 'monsters' that society had rejected, conversing about simple things like family.

Still, after all the time he had been trapped in that damn cell with no one to talk to besides his fellow prisoners (The two, then just one, that had been in his same hallway at least) or that Knight sharing the same name as Selka's sister and Eugeo's childhood friend, this felt…surprisingly nice.

Smiling a little wider as the teenage girl beside him finally started looking as cheerful and open as one her age should be, talking to him about the things she and the others had been doing while he was incarcerated, the gamer took a decision.

When he managed to find a way to get back…he would, after punching Kikuoka in the face, find a way to introduce his family to all the friends he had made in this world.

That was a promise.

* * *

Deeper into the underground complex, the 'training rooms' weren't really anything special. Just bigger-than-average chambers with enough open space and illumination to serve as a good substitute for an open space. Sometimes they had a few obstacles in the middle, having been requested to be put there or something along those lines.

Though to be fair, they weren't really used much. Only the 3 'original founders' of their secluded society were officially fighters, and more often than not few of the refugees felt the need of experimenting or pushing the limits of their Curses.

After all, why would they feel the need to test the very thing that had ruined their lives?

Even so, there were always exceptions. Either young ones that were too curious, people that wanted to try and help improve everyone's way of life, and a few braver ones that actually volunteered to go out and help with obtaining resources for everyone. Hence why the rooms had been built at all.

And then…there were the exceptions to the exceptions. People that actually had a reason to want to get as much as they could from their inhuman abilities.

Currently, you could count the people with such intentions living inside the hideout with both hands and still have fingers left.

Two of them were, in fact, clashing within one of the rooms, two blurs rushing past each other with almost animal efficiency in their repeated clashes.

Face stoic and fully centered, Eugeo spun through the air, his leg connecting upon his opponent's chest with enough force to shatter solid rock.

Snarling, Tiese caught his foot at the last second, lashing out with her free hand, claws reflecting the crystal-born light of the room.

Not even hesitating, the undead put his own arm in the way and let her claws sink into his flesh, then spun around and bodily threw the vampiress towards the ground, where she crashed with a thunderous sound.

Ignoring how his flesh and muscle regenerated almost instantly, the green-eyed boy let himself fall elbow-first, aiming to ram it into the girl's face…

"Enough! Stop!"

…and then stopped at the voice's call, his arms moving to hug his own body as he rolled at the last second and crashed painfully on the ground, in a very awkward angle.

The way in which his limbs dislocated or the painful cracking sounds that echoed would have made more than one cringe, but for the two girls present in the room it was just an everyday sight.

"…one day I will stick the damn emergency landings." complained Eugeo even as his bones mended and forcefully put his arms and legs back on their proper places.

"And maybe one day I will actually beat you, sempai." chuckled Tiese as she pulled herself from the mini-crater she had created with her landing, dusting herself off and offering a hand and a smile to the undead.

"Don't call me that…and be a bit more optimist; you have barely had a few months of actual training. I have been fending for myself and fighting against things trying to kill me with a power that amounted to 'You can be stabbed endlessly without dying' since I was 11." joked the green-eyed boy as he took the offered hand and stood up. "Given how far you have come in such a short time, you may surprise yourself one day…then again, Selka-chan there is getting better way faster than any of us."

"I-I just basically sit here doing nothing." mumbled the tea-haired girl from her place leaning against one of the training room's walls, her crystal ball in her hands as she smiled awkwardly towards the pair. "Sharpening my abilities to see into the future is nothing compared to the effort you to put in your training…"

"Are you kidding me? You can see things that are immediately about to happen, accurately detect when an event will take place and even slightly gleam into your deeper visions without almost killing yourself now!" pointed out Eugeo with a blunt tone, making Selka look down with a wondering look, straight into her crystal ball's depths. "Compared to how you were like a year ago, you have improved way more than us."

"Perhaps…perhaps I have. But it's still not enough. I'm still the weakest out of all of us." spoke the young girl with a resigned smile, earning small frowns from her two friends. "Without you, I would be lost…this is still not enough to save Alice-neesama…"

"Don't say that, Selka. I'm sure your sister wouldn't want to hear you saying you're not good enough to help her."

As one, all three fugitives looked towards the room's entrance with clear surprise, seeing a familiar caped boy walking their way with a smile, followed by a happy-looking brunette girl.

"Heh, good morning to you too, partner." smiled Eugeo as he walked to meet Kirito halfway, their fists meeting in a casual fist-bump. "It's good to see you so nonchalant after everything that happened."

"You know me, it will take more than months imprisoned by a bunch of lunatics to break me." scoffed the hero from another world before giving Selka a confident smile. "And truly, Selka, I would say that your power is the most useful out of everyone's here. The ability to know the things that will happen before they do, to be able to do everything you can to prevent a catastrophe…that's probably one of the most amazing gifts I could think of."

"Ki-Kirito…"

"Just…always remember to not get lost in what you're seeing, okay? Never forget to live in the present." remarked the caped boy while putting a hand on her head, making her look up at him in surprise. "And that, no matter what you see, even if it's something horrible…we can stop it from happening if we all work together, okay?"

"…yes. I will." muttered the tea-haired girl while closing her eyes and smiling, everyone deciding to pretend they didn't see the small tears gathering at the edge of her orbs. "Let's go…let's become stronger and save Onee-sama together!"

"…heh, well, I guess that answer the question or if you had convinced these two of joining us while I was away." chuckled Kirito while shaking his head, causing Tiese to huff and Ronye to pout his way. "Still…are you sure? I remember clearly that all you wanted originally was to get here, to a safe place where you wouldn't be judged for your abilities. Going with us doesn't only mean to renounce to that, but also to put yourselves in more danger than you may have ever imagined."

"We…we know, Kirito." accepted the red-haired girl after exchanging a look with her best friend. "But we're determined about this, have been for some time now. It's not only because you three saved us or because we felt we owe you…this is something we WANT to do."

"Yes…we have learned, this time here, seeing how everyone lives, hearing stories from Selka and Eugeo-san, getting stronger to save you…this world is even more unfair than we ever imagined. And, even if it's just a small fraction, we want to help stop that." declared Ronye while raising a hand to the ceiling. "So we will go with you! We will defeat the Integrity Knights and save Alice-san!"

"You heard them, partner." laughed Eugeo while giving the other boy a serene smile. "They're determined to see this to the end."

"…then, because I'm the last person that can actually warn someone about suffering unnecessary risks, welcome aboard." simply declared Kirito with a grin on her own, receiving a cheer from the blue-eyed girl and a grateful look from the redhead. "We should probably start planning what we are going to do to get to Centoria soon, though, and how…"

"Are you truly going to try something so foolish?"

The unexpected voice caught everyone by surprise, heads snapping towards the training area's entrance to see the form of Sortiliena Serlut walking their way with an unusually stern look in her enigmatic face, her piercing gaze fixed on the black-haired boy's own eyes.

"Foolishness is something you can't really judge based on preconceptions, you know?" replied the caped boy without missing a beat, not letting his companions voice any protests as he was sure they were about to (Or some snarky comment in Eugeo's case, maybe). "As they say in my world, if it sounds stupid but it works then it's not stupid."

"And it if it doesn't work in this case, you're all dead." retorted the ponytailed girl while stopping just before him, looking down into his calm eyes with a piercing glare. "Are you ready to risk that?"

"If you were here long enough, you should know that we're all determined to do this despite the danger, Sortiliena-san. So please, be honest, what do really you want to say?"

"You all should stay here with us." bluntly declared the Rider while gesturing around them with her arms. "Here you're all safe and your powers would be extremely useful for everyone. If you truly want to make a difference in this world, you could make it here, helping those that have nothing else…"

She pointedly ignored the incessant nagging of Sleipnir on the back of her head, telling her that his mission was to 'deliver' the black-haired boy to his 'Maker' in Central Cathedral to kill her. She had promised to help him fulfill his mission in exchange for his power, after all, but in this situation, if needed, she would resist until he had no choice but to take over her body and carry only the crazy one with the cape towards Centoria. The people here needed all the help they could get, after all, and at least the other four would more than make up for her loss if it happened…

"If the Heroes run and hide, who will stay and fight?"

"…what?" asked Sortiliena with shock at the unexpected words, noticing the surprisingly relaxed look on Kirito's face as he looked at her now, somehow seeming to tower over her despite the fact that she was slightly taller.

"That's something one of my greatest inspirations in life said once. I have been faced by situations that make me question exactly that countless times…but I have always pushed forward by what they're meant to represent." declared the caped boy while crossing his arms. "While it's true that everyone in here needs all the help they can get…what difference will it make in the long run, Sortiliena-san? Are you planning on protecting them forever? What about when you, Uolo or Gorgolosso aren't here anymore? What about any families they want to make? About their future?"

"I…that is, we…"

"You never have considered that, right? Maybe looked and planned for a few years ahead, but not for what may happen in the long run." pointed out the otherworldly hero while giving her a sympathetic smile. "As long as the world continues being the way it is, twisted and unfair, then none of them will have a real future. They will never be able to achieve true happiness. So, as foolish as it may sound to you…I want to fight for that. For a world where a little girl isn't kidnaped by an overpowered knight just because she was too kind for its laws. For one where people aren't hunted down because they look like 'monsters' or because they try and protect themselves in a way the 'law' doesn't approve of."

Kirito was keenly aware of the looks everyone was sending his way, both his friends and the young woman that had questioned their determination. Some of awe, some of amused acceptance, some consideration and one of utter disbelief. However, he did not care.

He _knew_ he was a 'crazy person' by his world's standards. In this world where almost everything was crazy and twisted in bizarre ways, though? Powers or not, he felt he fit right in, and if nothing had been able to him doubt himself in reality when it had really mattered, then they would have even less chance of doing so here.

Which is why he wasn't even all that surprised when the next words escaped Sortiliena Serlut's mouth.

"Fight me."

"…eh?!" shouted all the other girls present even as Eugeo's eyes narrowed slightly, only to relax when he saw his friend shrugging and walking forward, meeting the Rider's challenging stare with his own nonchalant one.

"Sure. But if you're trying to prove something just to try and dissuade us or force us to stay…I'm sorry to say that beating me won't change that."

"I merely want you to show me if you can back up those words, boy from another world." answered the ponytailed girl while she reached for her blade and sword, everyone else quickly backing off with a mix of worried and serious looks. "But if you're already assuming you will lose before we even begin, then maybe…"

"I'm not. I was just explaining all the facts to you."

The next moment, the boy moved and found himself inside Sortiliena's guard, her eyes widening in shock as his bandaged arm shot forward.

"Wha…?!"

"It takes more than overwhelming power to win a battle, after all!"

Punch met the flat of a blade, hastily raised to defend its wielder. The thunderous sound of steel and flesh clashing echoed.

And so, a battle of ideals began.

* * *

Alice Synthesis 30 didn't consider herself all-powerful. Nor all-knowledgeable. While to normal people the Integrity Knights may have seemed like beings far above them, she knew intrinsically that they weren't unbeatable. Especially in a world that seemed to grow more hostile and chaotic every day.

Quite a few of them, in fact, had fallen in the past because of this and, as such, Bercouli-sama had trained her to never overestimate herself, to always know her limitations. That she had been hailed amongst one of the strongest Knights in history, both because of her potential and her Divine Blessing, mattered not.

The Golden Knight knew better than to assume nothing in the world could defeat her. Even Synthesis One nonchalantly admitted he may one day be bested if he wasn't careful, after all.

As such, when she had been ordered to track down the escaped Disaster-Level Dragon in the aftermath of her failure on The Pit, she had been more than a bit concerned, and respectfully asked for support from Central Cathedral before setting off in her journey. Even under normal circumstances, it would already have been dangerous and worrying, but after what had happened it was just asking for trouble.

She wasn't on top condition even remotely, having been forced to kill dozens of Demon and Tiger-level inmates while using her sword's Full Control Art, and Amayori wasn't much better, her dear dragon having been unable to properly rest on the grounds of the creepy prison. When you combined that with an enemy whose very nature apparently made it extremely hard to beat with any conventional weapon, it was basically asking for something to go horribly wrong.

Which was why, now, as knight and dragon landed near the shores of a mid-sized lake, tired, thirsty, and hungry, all that Alice could do as she dismounted Amayori and caressed her head…was sigh in resignation, her face turning utterly serious the moment she turned to look at the water.

"You must think me a fool of the highest caliber, criminal, if you actually thought I wouldn't know there are no lakes at all in this area."

Instantly, as if it had been waiting for her words, the 'lake' shot upwards with an almost violent motion, Amayori roaring as it slowly took a vaguely towering shape.

From within its depths, two massive EYES stared down towards the Golden Knight, somehow giving the feeling of glaring despite being simply eyeballs floating within the liquid.

The abomination rumbled in a vaguely threatening way, the sound echoing through the valley deep within Eastabarieth, even as its surface rumbled sinisterly.

"…Disaster-Level Dragon, Inmate #13, codenamed 'Evil Natural Water' after your Divine Curse because you were unable to ever give your name." stated the blonde girl with an impassive stare. "I have been ordered to give you one chance to surrender and return to The Pit. Otherwise…"

Alice wasn't even allowed to finish her sentence, because several high-pressurized streams of water shot from the living mass of water's body faster than bullets, striking the area where she and her dragon had been standing and causing explosions of muddy earth.

The next instant, though, a roaring form shot to the air and retailed with a beam of raw heat, Amayori's breath-attack tearing through Evil Natural Water with a violent hiss of steam.

However, the hole created inside the Disaster Level-Dragon's body vanished in an instant, its eyes zeroing on the actual dragon with sinister focus…

Before something rushed past him at mindboggling speeds, scattering countless small pieces of its body in all directions, the golden blur quickly shooting away as the massive eyes were now fixed upon her.

"Amayori, stand by while you recharge your Thermal Elements! Physical attacks have almost no effect and its attacks will surely pierce through your scales at the speed they come!"

Barely letting her eyes move far enough to see her dear dragon acknowledging and obeying her order, the Integrity Knight was already zigzagging at speeds that should have killed any normal human that moved at them, easily evading the countless shots of water that left deep scars on the earth every time they missed her.

Once again, the golden blur shot towards the liquid monster, slashing with her blade through its body and scattering many droplets thanks to her supersonic slashes, yet no visible sign of pain or strain was visible on the creature's form, only another unintelligible rumble erupting from its depths as it resumed its attack.

 _"So, not even a Divine Instrument can directly damage its body no matter what. There doesn't seem to be a core, nor any weak points beside maybe the eyes, but that is way too obvious. This creature may be the worst match for me. I need to…"_

Alice's thoughts were interrupted by the giant mass of evil water suddenly collapsing upon itself, rushing forward like a tidal wave as if to cut her off. However, her body was already reacting faster than her thoughts could, running forward and out of the way, easily evading…

Streams of water shoot out from two different directions, creating a 'wall' that crossed way around her. Eyes widening, the blonde girl realized too late that enough vestiges of its previous humanity must have remained within the creature, for it had carefully planned and trapped her in an extremely crafty way.

And then, the water was closing above, behind and before her, rushing to crush her or to drown her, for whatever happened first would be satisfying for the monstrous entity that…

Something literally EXPLODED out of the mass of water, moving at such speeds that they actually blew off a massive chunk of the living liquid. Shocked, the Evil Natural Water's eyes moved following the golden _flash_ that suddenly stopped out of its range, standing silently over a trip while water dripped down her form.

"How unsightly…to think you would force me to take off my armor…I have slacked off on my training. Ojii-sama would be disappointed."

Standing now there with nothing but her cape and chest armor, the rest of it and even her 'battle dress' now floating within its enemy body, Alice Synthesis Thirty glared towards her enemy, even as droplets fell from her side. However, this had also revealed how she wore a skintight full-bodysuit, of a much darker blue than her cape, which she softly fastened around her neck to make sure it wouldn't fall. Held in her left hand, her sheathed sword was slowly put over her hip, even as a stylized 'chain' was formed with the leftover metal and let it wrap around it, the weapon hanging softly from her side.

Then, almost as if she was casually looking at the weather, her hand glowed as she slid it over her golden chest armor, its shape changing and molding closer to her body, yet opening on the lower part, repurposing it for a less protective much more streamlined and sharp form.

The fact she didn't need to call the Sacred Art's command needed for such a thing spoke volumes about how many times she must have done so in the past.

"…however, this is also a good chance to clear my mind from everything troubling it the last days. After all…it's been a long time since I have really gone _all out_ …"

Her words had barely finished reaching the form of the Disaster-Level Dragon mysterious being before she was gone, and suddenly the artificial Fluctlight that had become Evil Natural Water found itself surrounded by a golden storm, something moving at such a speed that it felt as if a wall of flashing gold had started closing around its mass.

As if that wasn't enough, though…a literal tornado was forming around it, with such potency and fierceness that even its attempts to shoot pieces of its body like high-pressurized 'bullets' did nothing to it. With shock and horror, the creature found itself starting to spin along the storm, turning into a whirlwind encased within raw golden speed.

" _System Call. Generate Thermal Element._ " intoned a perfectly calm voice in English, the world's Sacred Tongue, even as flashes of red appeared on the golden storm. " _Sphere Shape. Expand upon whole target…_ "

Whatever remained of a human consciousness within the abomination of water seemingly vaguely understood what its enemy was doing and redoubled its efforts to escape, redirecting its mass upwards as best as it could through the storm, aiming to escape through its literal eye…

And a dragon with a glowing mouth was there ready to intercept it, unleashing once again her beam of pure heat directly from above, evaporating the top of the water just as her master finished her 'spell'.

" _…Burst."_

Have you ever seen a tornado catching fire? Not many people alive could ever say they had witnessed something so bizarre. Yet, in the instant its whole body was engulfed by a raging inferno spinning way faster than even its most powerful water-shots could ever be, as its entire existence literally _boiled_ to death, what remained of the soul that had turned into 'Evil Natural Water' could only marvel at how something so destructive could be so beautiful.

Then, it died, its Fluctlight being erased from the Light Cube Cluster even as its 'Curse' was harvested and returned to the merciless cycle.

A few seconds later, Alice Synthesis Thirty stopped, the golden knight saying nothing as she stared at the scorched earth that surrounded the massive area where her enemy had once been, steam quickly rising towards the heavens and creating honest-to-Goddess clouds at alarming speeds.

However, none of it seemed to matter for the blonde girl as she walked over the burned land, her eyes looking down as she stopped before her smoking armor and the carbonized remains of her battle-dress.

The first droplets of rain started falling just as she leaned down to touch of her gauntlets, frowning at how hot the metal was before the quickly pouring water cooled it off.

Amayori wordlessly landed at her side, the dragon softly purring in worry while raising a wing to cover her master from the cold rain.

"…I don't get it…I just can't understand it, Amayori…why didn't it surrender? Why fight knowing only death or a pointless existence as a monster awaited it?" mumbled Alice while grabbing her gauntlets, putting them back on and then, without hesitation, reshaping them with Sacred Arts too, until they extended to look like scale mail covering only the exterior of her arms. "Why…why am I so filled with doubt now? Ever since I talked with that criminal for the last time, the one called Kirito…it's as if something inside me feels…twisted…like…"

Trailing off, the Golden Knight's eyes moved towards the edge of the scorched circle she had made when eliminating her enemy.

Standing there, her image hazily twisting in the rage as if a specter it was, the sad-looking form of a little blonde girl with a blue and white dress stared at her with melancholy…

And then the sound of beating wings snapped the blonde out of her delusion, not seeing anything there anymore even as she turned around in time to see five dragons descending towards her, four of the riders looking in shock at the clouds and at the burned ground around her.

The last one, however, simply dismounted and walked towards her, looking up and down her form as if looking for something she didn't find.

"…I see you didn't need any help at all in the end, Alice-chan."

"Fanatio-dono, Oscillating Blades." 'greeted' the Golden Knight with the same empty tone that the armored woman before her had used to 'greet' her. "And no, I truly could have used some backup, this was no normal enemy I could have easily dispatched. If I had slipped for even a second, I would have surely died."

"…but you literally vaporized him." pointed out one of the disbelieving knights while looking up at the pouring rain.

"Yes, because I didn't slip at all. Doesn't change the fact that I could have died at any moment, though." casually declared the blonde before bending down to grab the remains of her armor and start carrying them towards Amayori, walking past the other 5 knights as if they weren't there. "Now, if you excuse me, we should get going back to Central Cathedral. I still need to track down those escaped criminals and not only am I, and my dragon, exhausted, I also need to get my armor fixed and new clothes…"

"…about that, you don't need to worry anymore, Alice-chan." interrupted Fanatio while a single light shone in the middle of her helmet's darkness for an instant as she turned towards the younger knight, making her freeze with her next words. "The criminals were found together with the Rider's base and a raid to exterminate them was dispatched, led by Synthesis Thirty-One. They're not your problem anymore."

"Wha…? Eldrie was…?! Is he insane?!"

"Hoh? Doubting of your own apprentice's abilities, Ali…?"

"Stop fooling around, Fanatio, you don't get it! The Rider aside, whoever got MY prisoner out of there had enough power to shake the entire Pit and low enough numbers to infiltrate it behind me without my notice! Eldrie could be walking to his death!"

Not giving the others time to answer, Alice jumped on Amayori's back and shot to the heavens, her dragon immediately understanding her distress and intentions even without a direct explanation. A few seconds later, Fanatio Synthesis Two and her four followers flew after her.

Remaining in the lonely patch of land upon which a sad rain fell…the spectral form of a little girl with golden hair stared after their retreating forms with melancholy, before her eyes softly moved towards the heavens.

Unseen by any except her, the flickering image of infinite Chains continued engulfing Everything, tighter every instant, towards the inevitable end.

"…time is almost up…"

With that unheard whisper, the image of the fading memory vanished once again, not-quite-forgotten…yet

* * *

Sortiliena Serlut wasn't a stranger to fighting. In fact, one could say it was the thing she knew how to do best, the single thing she was good at ever since she exchanged her Humanity for the Power to make a difference.

Yet, as she continued rushing through the training area and lashed out with her whip, only for it to be caught by a shockingly strong arm, then finding a closed fist all but in her face as she was pulled through her own weapon, she realized she had never 'fought' against someone like this.

Someone that should be outmatched but managed to keep crawling out of reach and returning with an almost ferocious vengeance, as if the certainty that THEY should be the one winning was the only thing in their hearts.

So even as she let her blade's flat side once again parry the attack and managed to catch him off guard by letting go of her whip and kicking him back, she couldn't help but wonder…just what kind of fights had this boy fought in his 'world' to be able to face her like that?

"Kuh…!"

"Kirito!"

"Stay back, Selka, he can take it." softly commented Eugeo while stopping the young girl from rushing to their friend's aid from where they had been watching the 'spar'. "You know that's not enough to take him down."

"Ye-yes, but…"

"Gah!" Sortiliena's sudden shout made everyone's attention snap back to the battle, in time to see how her whip had all but been thrown to her face, in such an unexpected way that dodging it still ended with part of it slapping her right cheek. "Who throws his opponent's weapon back t…?!"

"Someone looking for an opening!" shouted Kirito back as his fist was already burying itself on her chest, driving all the air from her lungs and sending her flying back several meters. "Argh…arf…so…how was it? Not bad for someone trying to do something 'impossible', eh?"

"…ugh…cough…yeah…not bad, as you said. But…"

"Ki-Kirito-san, watch out!" screamed Ronye as everyone's eyes widened, a flashing light of otherworldly Will lashing out and Overwriting the world.

" **Henshin**."

"Oh, fuck m…UGH!" was all that escaped Kirito's mouth once the armored form of the Valkyrie was before him, moving faster than the human eyes could follow and slamming him down and into the ground.

"…not good enough."

 _"Fuck…didn't even see her…should have kept my 'Saitama-reflexes' up…I'm getting too relaxed in this world…this has to be the longest I have been without being all 'super' since I got trapped in SAO…"_ mentally growled the caped boy while trying to find the strength to stand again, which was a bit hard given how much his body felt like one big bruise. _"Fuck…that's a Kamen Rider's strength for you…"_

"He-hey, that's cheating! You transformed!" shouted Ronye with an outraged look as she pointed at the Rider, who turned to look at her with an empty look in her helmet's insect-like eyes.

"Cheating? You're saying that you will go out and oppose the Axiom Church to save someone, face the Integrity Knights themselves to do so…all of which are leagues more powerful than most of you, and way more experienced than even someone with your power, Ronye-san. There won't be any 'cheating' for them." pointed out the armored warrior with a cold tone, making the younger girl freeze and look down. "If you're going to be risking your lives, you need to face the cruel reality that we all live in for…"

"You…are right…this world is unfair, we're outnumbered…our enemies are way too strong and…have control over almost everything…but…" as he said those words, Kirito slowly forced himself back to his feet, surprising the Rider and making his friends look at him with surprise, though Eugeo's face quickly morphed into a small grin. "If we run and hide…like you want us to do…who will stay and fight…to make this world a better place…?"

"How…how can you think you can actually make a difference against all of that? Against the world itself? You're…you're just one person. One without even any special power…" mumbled the young woman while unconsciously taking a step back.

A feral grin was her answer even as the black-haired boy's fist rose…and shone, the bandages morphing into a pristine white glove.

"All the power I need…is the conviction to change things."

With a roar, the caped hero punched, stopping his fist just before the Valkyrie's chest.

The next instant, the air-pressure of the stopped-blow hit and catapulted the wide-eyed Rider towards the opposite end of the room, where she crashed with a small scream, cracking the wall.

Despite that, though, the absolute shock from the onlookers was centered on Kirito or, more exactly, on his right hand, because…

"…it's…it's intact." muttered Tiese with awe.

"Kirito…you didn't…" mumbled Selka while lowering her hands, having already started to prepare a Sacred Art to heal him at the use of his strange 'ability'.

"…heh, you truly are something else, eh, partner?" was all that Eugeo said while shaking his head.

For his part…the black-haired young man stared at his uninjured fist with a pondering expression, the hand once again wrapped only in bandages as he opened and closed it experimentally.

Not even remotely perfect. And maybe it would have gone worse if the punch had actually connected, he wasn't sure, but…

"Baby steps. Better than nothing." chuckled the caped hero while shaking his head, even as Sortiliena slowly pushed her armored form off the wall. "I'm finally figuring out how this Incarnation-thing actually works…so, was that enough for you, Sortiliena Serlut?"

"You…I thought you didn't have a Blessing or curse." groaned the Rider while standing on surprisingly wobbly legs.

"I don't. I'm just _very good_ at punching the crap out of things back where I come from." replied Kirito with a challenging smirk. "So…ready for round two?"

"…you're going to regret asking for that, boy." laughed the Valkyrie while grabbing for her whip-blade, letting the bizarre weapon come to life…

Just as a thunderous noise echoed through the entire underground complex, the following tremor shaking the ground so brutally that everyone but Kirito and Sortiliena, who were tense and ready to fight, fell to the ground.

"Uaaaah…!"

"Wha-what the hell…?!"

"An earthquake?!"

"What in Stacia's name is an earthquake?!"

"Wait…if you don't have earthquakes here, then…!"

A sudden voice echoed through the air, making a grim and imminent announcement.

Without even waiting for it to finish, Sortiliena was already running for the exit, Kirito and Eugeo hot on her heels and everyone else following after them, ready to try and stop a catastrophe…

* * *

Young Frenica Szeski used to be just a timid girl who lived in the outer districts of Centoria. She always looked a bit frail and delicate, but she was actually a very active young girl, who dreamed of helping out her family as best as she could.

Then one day she went out of the capital with her uncle to help buy some clothes as a gift for her parents' anniversary in the closest town of Southacroith and everything went wrong.

She could still remember the people running and screaming as she lost sight of her uncle. Still remember the oversized dog-like abomination tearing through a house and almost eating her whole, her soul-shattering scream echoing as she jumped to get away…and ended up way higher than should have been possible.

For good or bad, though probably the former, she had been too terrified of the creature to fully assimilate the fact that she didn't look even remotely human anymore, and that she was flying, instead soaring as fast as she could away from the town, with the roaring beast following closely behind. Just as her new wings had felt heavy and tired from having been flying for almost an hour and the Mountain Range was looking dangerously close…someone had shouted for her from down below just as the giant dog-thing was filled with holes from some loud and fast weapon, making it scream and crash into the trees.

Landing with almost a crash, she had for the first time seen the imposing visage of the Rider and of the man with the weapon-arm, Uolo-sama, before the shadows had swallowed them with a flash of light.

Once she was asked if she was fine and she had realized she was safe…the realization that she had turned into a 2 meters tall and almost twice as long golden and red bird with oversized eyes finally hit her.

Frenica had spent hours crying, even as Sortiliena tried to soothe her and urge her to move while Uolo kept an eye out for them. When she had first been brought to the hideout, she had been terrified of everything, even of her own reflection (When it didn't just make her depressed).

It took almost 3 years for her to even begin to adapt properly. Then another one to start relating with everyone around and finally almost 6 months to start actively helping out. Her speed while flying and her shocking strength were especially useful to find resources, hunt and, if her group was feeling bold enough, to even try and snatch something from random people outside towns, like a bit of the richest crops.

Stealing made her feel terrible, and the first time she had tried to do it, aided by the mighty Rider, she had actually lost her eye because of it, but the reminder that there were even hungry children back at 'home' with them had let her push forward, for the sake of everyone.

Because of all that, at the end of the day, despite being basically a young teenage girl stuck as some sort of bizarre bird monster for probably the rest of her life, living in what amounted to a hole on the ground far away from civilization…Frenica was happy. She was happy when others thanked her for her help. She was happy when kids asked to ride on her back or if she could take them flying around. She was happy when the Rider…when Sortiliena-sama praised her for her efforts.

And that was why, when the wall of the hallway she was traversing collapsed from the crashing form of a giant arm basically piercing through it, she instinctively shot forward and opened her wings wide, tanking the debris that would probably have crushed the chameleon-like kid and the multi-eyed young woman that had been talking with her, both of them screaming even as she grounded in pain.

Finally realizing that she was staring at what looked to be a Subterranean bigger than a tree, the echoing sound of a cultured and soft, yet merciless, voice reached her ears, even as the entire underground area shook from what she assumed were more and more of the creatures piercing through the tunnels.

 _"Greetings, criminals. This is Integrity Knight Eldrie Synthesis Thirty One speaking. In the name of the Axiom Church, you have all been deemed a danger to the peace of the Human World and, as such, will be exterminated. Do not try to resist and you will receive a swift and painless death. Try to escape, though, and well…"_

Roars, screams and shrill sounds soon filled the tunnels, the booming fists of the Giant Subterraneans crashing with bodies echoing everywhere.

"Go-Goddesses…!"

 _"…things will end much worse for you."_

"Fre-Frenica-chan, look out!" screamed the chameleon kid just as the giant turned towards them, its emotionless eyes shining red as its massive fist lashed out towards the paralyzed bird-girl.

And just as it was about to connect…a whip-blade lashed out and cut through it, mangling the hand before it _ripped_ most of it apart with a brutal returning motion, making the creature scream in pain.

Then several spheres of raw destruction tore through its body and head, silencing it as it fell dead.

"Frenica, Moku, Prim! Are you okay?!" shouted Sortiliena as she reached the 3 shocked civilians, who nodded dumbly even as Ronye lowered her hands and watched helplessly from the other side of the hallway, Tiese and the rest reaching her side an instant later. "Did they hurt you?!"

"N-no…we're fine…some rocks bruised me a bit, but I will live." replied the oversized bird with a shaky voice, her sweet and young voice at odds with its bizarre body. "Wha-what should we do, though, Sortiliena-sama?! They have found us; the Integrity Knights are here and…!"

"Get everyone ready for evacuation!" curtly sentenced the Rider before looking back at everyone. "I need you all to help me! Find Uolo, Gorgolosso or Azurica! They should be getting everyone evacuated as best as they can but they will need help protecting…!"

"Already on it!" answered Eugeo as he dashed to the opposite side of the hall, Tiese following him after a moment of hesitation, urging Frenica and the other 2 refugees to follow. "Let's meet back up outside!"

"Selka, go with them. If you can use your powers to tell them where they could be attacked…"

"It would keep them safe, got it." nodded the young girl as she rushed after her friends, barely giving the massive dead Subterranean a glance as she ran. "Please take care, Kirito!"

"Wha-what should I do, then?" asked Ronye with a hesitant look, even as the caped boy gave a look towards the silent Valkyrie, who nodded before shooting back down the hallway towards another direction.

"You're coming with me." declared Kirito before following after the Rider, the Cursed girl hot on his heels as they hurried towards a nearby crossroads. "Out of everyone here, you have the most potent firepower…let's show these bastards to not try and kill innocents just because they're different from…!…Sortiliena?"

"…both of you, get out of here." coldly ordered the tense young woman as she glared towards the darkness of the hallway that was just before them, sharply pointing towards the one that headed to the left, towards the hideout's upper floors. "Now."

"…okay. Let's go, Ronye." quickly acknowledged the boy from another world without even asking for an explanation, earning Sortiliena's mental thanks as Ronye followed him with confusion.

After a few seconds, she took a deep breath and adopted a loose stance, her grip on her whip-blade tightening considerably.

"You can come out now."

"…heh, should have expected it from the infamous Rider of Eastabarieth. To think you could feel me even as I hid my presence…truly commendable."

Calmly, the smiling and handsome form of Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-One emerged from the hallway, a dark-blue and powerful-looking whip casually held on his hand.

"Spare me the theatrics, Integrity Knight." spat the Rider while feeling a weird pull on her mind. "If you're here to kill me, get ready to pay dearly for that."

 ** _'Mental Interference detected. Effects greatly reduced by user's Rider Form. Theorized to be part of the opponent's Blessing.'_**

 _"Just perfect…but no matter, I will still take him do…!"_

"As much as I would like to test myself against you, Valkyrie, I'm afraid you're slightly mistaken. The priority target we're supposed to take down was that boy you just allowed to go through the hall, so…I guess I will have to cut this short." revealed the young man with an almost carefree smile before raising his whip, shock and dread suddenly filling Sortiliena's eyes behind her helmet. "Enhance Armament."

Then, before she could understand what had happened, 5 whip-tails all coming from the same weapon lashed out at her with brutal force, actually rattling her armor and sending her back with thunderous force.

"Gah…!"

"Hoh…to survive such a direct attack from my Frost Scale Whip with no visible external damage…that armor of yours is something else." grinned the knight as he casually flexed his hand, the whip that had somehow both multiplied and almost doubled in length rearing back almost effortlessly as he prepared for another attack. "Let's see how much more it takes before breaking."

"You will have to find out…in your next life!"

With that roar, the Rider's whip-blade extended forward, the impossible sword lashing out and being eagerly met by the almost serpentine's movements of the Divine Object's multiple 'heads'.

And so, the first and last fight between Underworld's most powerful whip-users started.

* * *

"KEEP RUNNING! DON'T STOP!" roared Uolo as he raised his Gatling gun arm and unleashed hell upon the two massive Subterraneans trying to tear through the damaged tunnel before him, even as several of the scared 'monsters' rushed past him, making sure children and woman were first as they headed for the exits they had prepared in case anything like this happened. "Dammit! How did they get so close without anyone noticing?!"

"Came through the earth faster than anyone expected. Tore through the tunnels' walls before anyone saw them coming." those words said, Gorgolosso ran forward and slammed horn-first against another of the creatures, slamming it against a wall with brutal force. "…not only bigger. Way faster and stronger than any normal Subterranean."

"Yeah, I had already noticed!" shot back the young man with of the weapon-arm as he stopped firing, growling at feeling the gun having overheated from the continuous shooting. "Dammit, we will never manage to keep all of them back before everyone is…!"

An axe flew throw the air before he managed to finish his words, the white weapon slamming right between the frontal eyes of one of the closest giants and making it scream in pain.

Not missing a beat, Eugeo shot forward at inhuman speeds, jumping with enough force to break bones and tear flesh, spinning and slashing with his sword so hard that his arm dislocated as he beheaded the stumbling Subterranean.

By the time he had landed and held out his hand to catch his falling Dragon Bone Axe, his wounds had already vanished, nothing but a cold look and some bloodstains remaining on him.

Weaponizing causing horrible bodily harm to yourself just to increase your ability to inflict damage in return sounded like a terribly stupid idea…unless you felt little to no pain and your entire body regenerated absurdly fast, that is.

"Are you all okay?!"

"…damn, I never thought I would feel so glad of seeing someone coming in and hurting themselves to the point it was borderline self-mutilation to help me. Goes to show how messed up our lives are." laughed Uolo while he once again raised his massive arm, Eugeo turning around at the distant sounds of more of the giants coming. "Good to see you here, kid. Where is Liena?"

"She, Ronye and Kirito-san went to bring the fight to these things near the main entrance; I think they're planning to distract them while we evacuate everyone!" responded Tiese as she landed near them, Selka running just behind as she guided Frenica and the other two towards the tunnel that the young man of the Gatling-arm had been protecting.

"That's good. Liena will keep them at bay." nodded Gorgolosso while stepping up beside his fellow protectors, the rhino-man looking ready for anything. "Let's hold the line here."

"Couldn't agree more, big guy. These guys may be bigger and stronger, but they're also way dumber than your average Subterranean." grinned Eugeo while readying his weapons, moving to look at his strange ally with a soft nod. "Let's show them what we…"

"MOVE!"

It all went almost as if in slow motion.

Once the shout reached them, the undead boy's gaze shot back even as he threw his body to the side by instinct (Idly noticing the rest had started to do the same), just in time to see Frenica's winged form all but tackling a shocked Selka aside with one of her wings, her wide and inhuman eyes filled with horror…

And a blast of destructive energy shot through the air, incinerating half of Uolo's weapon-arm, reducing the green-eyed boy's left arm to cinders (Sending his sword flying away as consequence) and slamming against the bird-like girl head on, consuming her form as it flew through the air and slammed against a wall, nothing but a ruined and burned mess of charred flesh and blackened feathers falling down to the ground.

Numbly, Eugeo stared at the ruin of a corpse, vaguely acknowledging Selka's scream as she rushed towards it, Selka's inhuman roar of fury as she spun around and Uolo's curse at his now useless weapon even as Gorgolosso howled in rage and charged forward, being met by yet another giant Subterranean.

All that the undead could see when he finally turned around again, though, was the familiar armored form flying in four crow-like wings, his inhuman head and oversized nose exposed right away this time as he scowled his way.

"I was aiming to kill you from the start, undying boy." spoke Renri Synthesis Twenty-Seven while reaching for the familiar form of his gleaming throwing knives. "Guess you have gotten sharper since our last meeting."

"YOU BAS…!"

" _Release Recollection!_ " shouted the Integrity Knight without any hesitation, the Twin Edged Wings screeching to life as they 'combined' and turned into a cross of cutting light that soared through the air at uncanny speeds, cutting through Gorgolosso's side and Tiese's hand as they screamed to dodge, Uolo barely able to raise his ruined weapon-arm as an impromptu club to try and block them, the Divine Object eating through the metal as if it was half-melted butter…

" _Enhance Armament!_ " answered Eugeo with a mix of rage and hate, the revenge-seeking memories within his axe forcibly awakening thanks to his Will as it grew and deformed into a deadly-looking ribcage of bone, batting aside the cross of death with a grunt, only for them half of it to explode as another blast of energy impacted with it, making the boy curse. "Fuck!"

"No more games. I'm not underestimating you this time, boy." coldly declared the winged knight while his Memory Released weapon flew around him, ready to fly back at his enemies, even as he gathered energy before his mouth once again. "In the name of the Axiom Church, Administrator-sama's compassion and my honor as the Capital's Guardian…you will all die here."

With that grim declaration, Renri shot forward, intent on annihilating those whose only sin was wanting to survive…

* * *

Echoing through the ruined hallway, the clash of steel and snapping sound of whips lashing out against the walls and each other eclipsed all other sounds, distant or close, as two figures moved at inhuman speeds as they clashed with unearthly brutality.

Gasping for breath, the Valkyrie dodged a devastating blow once they once again engaged in close combat for an instant, her own fist lashing out and being blocked easily by the grinning young man even as he spun and his leg grazed her side with the power of a giant's hammer.

Once the exchange ended and both armored warriors once again shot away from each other, their 'whips' once again clashing in midair, the Rider couldn't help but glance at the sorry state her armor was in, for what felt like the first time in her life.

Countless small 'cracks' filled several parts of it, even as even more marks that seemed like gashes made with a blade but had in truth been done by the unnatural whip's glancing blows littered her arms and legs.

At that point, she wasn't sure if Eldrie's body or weapon were the more dangerous, but it didn't really matter: By covering close and medium range between both, he was superior to her.

Sortiliena had never actually faced an enemy that overpowered her to such a degree…and it showed in the way she was slowly losing ground. Especially when, in comparison, the knight barely had any damage in his armor and wasn't even sweating, the amused smirk on his face feeling like a physical attack towards the young woman's pride as his whip's now seven 'tails swirled around him at a move of his arm, like vipers ready to strike.

"Truly amazing, Rider! To think there would be someone who could keep up with me using whips in a fight!" celebrated the Integrity Knight before closing his eyes, the smile slowly vanishing from his face. "However…I have wasted more than enough time, I'm sad to say. If I'm to catch up to that filthy criminal before he escapes, I fear I must end our fight now."

"You…say that as if it was going to be that easy…" gasped the Valkyrie while trying to regain her breath, steeling herself and readying her whip-blade once again. "I don't intend to lose this fight, Integrity Knight!"

 ** _'Armor's Integrity reduced by 29%. This Unit suggests retreating instead of further violent engagements.'_**

 _"Shut up Sleipnir! I can't afford to let this guy pass…no matter what!"_

Having mentally proclaimed so, the Rider shot forward, lashing out with her weapon with all her power, unwilling to give ground, unwilling to let her efforts be for nothing even as she saw three of the whip-tails flying towards her, ready to…!

" _Release Recollection._ "

In an instant, Will flashed out and a part of the world changed, the weapon bursting with power as its Memories were Released at its master's command.

Eyes widening, Sortiliena watched in utter shock as the three serpentine whips heading towards her _turned into actual snake-heads_ , their ruby-red eyes unfeeling and deadly even as their azure scales gleamed and their mouths opened to show their deadly fangs.

One of them bit into her weapon just as it was on the apex of its motion, the fangs cutting through the mystical metal as if it was glass and shattering it. The other two bit into her right arm and left shoulder mercilessly, actually tearing chunks of her armor as they brutally slammed her against the ceiling and back down, a scream of agony erupting from the depths of her soul at the damage.

"AAAAAAGHHH!"

 ** _'Armor's Integrity lowered by 70%! Incarnation Change unstable! Unit Sortiliena, are you still active?!'_**

"…I see. We had our suspicions but…to think the Rider of Eastabarieth was a monster like the ones she protects…" mumbled Eldrie with slightly narrowed eyes, even as his snake-whips hissed around him and turned back to normal. "I guess all legends have their dark truths, eh?"

Confused by the knight's words, the Valkyrie slowly pushed herself up, trying to ignore the searing pain and Sleipnir's worried cries on her mind as she raised her head to question him…and froze, her mind stopping to work for an instant as she saw what he was referring to.

Part of one of her arms and shoulder armor was gone, tore apart by the snakes' fangs, revealing… **nothing** underneath.

There was literally nothing under her armor, just black emptiness upon which energy vaguely shot from time to time and the rest of the armor's insides. There was pain and agony coming from there…yet there was no body at all.

No…that wasn't quite right, wasn't it? Hadn't she already known it, for a long time now? She gave up her 'Humanity' for this power. Sortiliena Serlut stopped being human long ago. There was 'nothing' inside her armor when she transformed…because she WAS the armor. That was her True Self.

So then, why…why did she feel such horror, such emptiness, upon seeing that with her own eyes? Why did her body suddenly not answer her commands?

Why…did she feel so empty?

 ** _'User's Incarnation falling to minimal levels…! Armor not responding! Danger! Danger!'_**

"…how disappointing. It seems you have lost the will to fight." sighed the Integrity Knight with pity in his eyes, even as he pulled his arm back and let his Will course through his Frost Scale Whip, the weapon coiling back and ready to strike. "At the very least, I will make your death painless and quick. Goodbye, Valkyrie…even if you were an enemy of the Human World, know that I saw you as a brave warrior in the end."

The young woman…no, the living piece of armor barely acknowledged the words, her gaze moving towards the whip's seven tails as they shot forward with ferocious brutality, already imagining how they would coil around her head and rip it off her shoulders, the goal Eldrie was clearly aiming for to fulfill his words…

But someone stood in their way, at the last second. Out of nowhere, like a blur of white and black, a caped figure roared as he let his fist blur forward, seven times in around a second, a pained scream and blood filling the air even as the wide-eyed knight saw his weapon's tips flying backward past him, crashing into the floor, ceiling or walls.

"Fu-fuck! That…hurt…what the hell is that whip made of…?"

"…Kirito?" muttered Sortiliena with a tiny voice, the cracked insect-like lenses that were her eyes moving towards the black-haired boy, who offered her a teeth-gritted smile as he casually raised his closed fist, which was bleeding profusely and staining its bandages.

"Yo, Liena-san! Sorry for the delay…there were a lot more of those things than we thought, but after a few blasts of Ronye they started to gather on us like bees around honey. She pretty much had things handled by herself, so…"

"You…left her alone…?"

At that moment, several Giant Subterraneans lost their heads as spheres of raw Destruction annihilated them from existence, Ronye's unshaken and 'dirty' form standing proudly and with determination, the seemingly tiny girl protecting the tunnel behind her (Where Azurica's form could be seen escorting more refugees away with a grim look) better than almost everyone else in the entire underground hideout was managing to.

"As I said, she had things under control. I trusted her to protect the entrance, and I know she's capable of doing so." declared Kirito while turning his back to her. "Believing in others…that will always another thing I won't regret doing. You rest now, though. Let me handle this guy."

"N-no…he will kill you…" mumbled the broken Rider while trying to stand, but managed nothing sans a weak shaking of her body.

"He will try. Wouldn't be the first one." simply replied the boy from another world as he started walking forward, eyes narrowed and fixed on Eldrie's visibly scowling visage.

"Well…I certainly didn't expect that you would save me the trouble of looking for you, criminal Kirito." coldly spoke the knight while willing his whip to straighten at his side once again. "Now I shall end you and restore Alice-sama's honor."

"Wait, you know Blondie? She's here?!" all but shouted the caped hero while looking from left to right, as if expecting the Golden Knight to come rushing at him any second now.

He totally ignored the way Eldrie's face contorted in rage at his words, his grip on the whip tightening furiously.

"What did you call Alice-sama, you lowly criminal?!"

"Eh? I said Blon…WOAH!" barely dodging the deadly barrage in time, Kirito cursed as his instincts and reaction time barely got him out of harm's way.

There was no way he could keep avoiding those whips with his current speed, though, at least not if he was trying to get closer instead of…

"Got you."

"Gah!" screamed the boy as one of the whip-tails snaked around his left arm and dragged him towards the snarling knight. "Son of a…!"

"DIE!" roared Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-One while his fist moved straight for the caped hero's head as he flew towards him.

 _"Fuck, his moves, this strength, the 'pretty boy' looks…He has Amai Mask's powers, doesn't he?! If that hits me, I'm toast!"_ mentally shouted the boy even as he quickly raised his right arm while the world slowed down to a crawl in his vision, letting his Will pour into the closing fist. "You…FIRST!"

Twin roars of determination and rage clashed just as both fists collided…the same instant as the bloodstained bandages in one warped into a shining white glove.

A thunderous noise exploded within the hallway…before being quickly drowned by Eldrie's scream of agony as the entirety of his left arm vanished in a shower of blood and gore, armor included, as if they had been nothing but a fragile illusion blown away by a powerful gust of wind.

Something akin to a choked noise escaped Sortiliena's currently nonexistent throat, the vision of the seemingly undefeatable enemy being brutalized so easily being seared into her eyes…into her soul.

Eyes wide, Kirito flew past the Integrity Knight and crashed on the ground behind him as he completely let go of his whip, falling to his knees and howling in pain as he covered the stump of his arm with horrified eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"N-no…my arm…it can't…can't be…what?! HOW?!"

"…well…what do you know? It actually worked…" coughed the black-haired boy as he shakily stood up, dirt and some blood that wasn't his staining his clothes as he looked at his once again normal fist. "…and my hand is still fine."

"DamnyoudamnyoudamnyouDAMNYOU!" practically shrieked the knight as he forced himself back to his feet, murder in his eyes as he Willed his Frost Scale Whip to fly back to his hand, making the grimacing hero turn around to see murder in his eyes. "I will…END YOU! RELEASE…!"

"Don't you dare to touch him, Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-One…"

Shocked mid-activation, both Eldrie and Kirito turned around, in time to see the Valkyrie's shaky form standing once again, her helmet facing directly into the

 ** _'Incarnation Levels rising! Unit's Fluctlight stabilizing…!'_**

"…we still haven't finished our fight, after all."

"Liena…" whispered the caped hero with clear shock…before one of the whip's tails shot out and coiled around his neck, starting to shock him. "Argh! Ba-bastard…!"

"I have no more time for you, Rider! This bastard not only sullied Alice-sama's name, but he has also humiliated and crippled me! For that, his agony shall be legendary!" spat the Integrity Knight with a burning hate in his eyes. "Be gone now! _Release Recollection!_ "

 _"…hey, Sleipnir?"_ mentally called Sortiliena even as she saw the 6 free whip-tails transform into deadly cobras.

 ** _'Yes, Unit Sortiliena?'_**

 _"Remember that thing Kirito mentioned yesterday we could apparently do? If you can…I would like to use it now."_

 ** _'Without any previous testing or knowledge of the technique's capabilities? That's unlike you.'_**

 _"Yeah, well…I'm kind of desperate here. But also…for once…I want to believe in someone else. I want to believe in that boy who just…did the impossible before my eyes."_

 ** _'…acknowledged. Activating Triumph Card!'_**

Once again, foreign Will burned from within the belt at the girl's waist, inhuman power ready to Overwrite the world as words in Sacred Tongue emerged from it.

This time, however…they were Kirito's own voice, the words he had spoken just yesterday, even if the tone had been changed and a mechanic undertone was added to them, making the boy's eyes widen in surprise and…wonder.

" ** _Final Attack Ride!_** "

"What in the…?! ATTACK!" quickly replied Eldrie as all 6 snakes shot forward like living arrows, aiming to tear the Valkyrie apart

"UOOOH!" roared Sortiliena as she jumped into the air, a Will not her own moving her body in the exact position she knew it needed, her right leg extended towards her enemy while the left one flexed just beside it, her knee almost pointing backward as she let two words explode from within her soul. " **RIDER KICK!** "

White flames _ignited_ around her leg from nothing but Willpower even as she shot forward with the power of a cannonball, the snakes being crushed, vaporized or thrown aside as her impossible attack soared towards their open-mouthed master, turning back into whips with a shower of light just as her leg connected against Eldrie's chest.

The thunderous 'boom' that followed literally catapulted Kirito away and into a wall, pain consuming him for a moment even as he saw both Rider and knight fly past him and towards the hallway's opposite end, finally realizing that the whip had been abandoned by a probably nerveless hand…

An explosion of sound and power blinded him for an instant, shaking the entire tunnel and making some bits of the dirt ceiling falling over his head, followed by an almost unnatural silence, only broken by the distant sound of fighting.

Slowly, the black-haired boy forced himself back to his feet, just as the sound of footsteps coming closer reached his ears.

Turning to the side, the caped hero offered a shaky smile to the Rider's victorious form, despite how much of a sorry state she looked to be in.

"You were right…my kicks ARE scary." chuckled Sortiliena as she stopped by his side, her belt flashing and her body returning to its 'human' form, a tired smile on the young woman's face.

"Well…if you're able to make jokes like that, I guess that means you won." laughed Kirito before looking towards the slightly smoking darkness at the end of the tunnel. "Did…did you…?"

"Kill him? I don't know…I certainly didn't stay to finish him off, but I wasn't exactly going easy on him before. I guess it will depend on him. However…" casually, as if it was no big deal, the girl grabbed the Frost Scale Whip from where the black-haired boy had been unconsciously holding onto it, giving the Divine Object a soft nod before hanging it from her waist. "He broke my sword and whip. Taking his weapon is the least I can do."

"That…makes sense, I guess?" replied the caped hero before slapping his own cheeks, trying to shake off the tiredness that had suddenly assaulted him as the weight of the deadly fight finally caught up to him. "Okay, let's forget that for now; we need to go find the others and get…eh…?"

A sudden rumble silenced the boy, Sortiliena's own eyes narrowing as it grew in intensity, the tunnel itself seemingly starting to shake…

And then darkness sharped like roots exploded from the wall, piercing through everything like a living barrage of blackness.

* * *

Eugeo wasn't someone who would ever accept defeat. To do so would mean failing, after all, and he had already promised to never fail anyone he cared for again.

However, despite that determination, there was no way for him to deny that…

"Aaaagh!"

"Uolo! Hang in there!"

"Die already."

"Move before…uaaaah!"

"Tiese!"

…they were losing. And badly.

Facing Renri Synthesis Twenty-Seven alone would be hard enough, especially now that he was fighting seriously, evidenced by how he no longer just hung back and let his knives do the work, but actually shot those damn energy blasts from his mouth and attacked with his claws and talons as fast as he could, but the seemingly never-ending horde of giant Subterraneans that kept backing him up made things nearly unmanageable.

The fact that Uolo had become nigh-useless for the fight almost at the beginning didn't help, the young man doing his best to use what remained of his weapon-arm as a club, but just unable to measure up to the monsters without the actual Gatling gun, let alone the winged knight.

At this point, even if his arm had already regenerated and he had recovered his sword, he was the only one still in any condition to fight at full capacity. Gorgolosso and Tiese had several wounds all over their bodies, even if the vampiress' nature allowed her to regenerate too with blood she didn't hesitate in taking from their enemies, and Selka…well, even if she could actually provide support for the fact, she hadn't moved from beside Frenica's body since they began, seemingly lost in a traumatized horror as she touched the massive bird…the girl's corpse, as if trying to wake her up from her eternal sleep.

She probably needed her, maybe even was close to a mental breakdown upon seeing someone innocent sacrificing herself to save her, but right now he couldn't…

"You're too distracted, undead boy!"

"Kuh…I can still beat you while making sure everyone stays alive, birdbrain!" shot back Eugeo while swinging his ever-shifting 'axe', though maybe calling it that while bones grew from it in haphazard directions to counter both the flying knives and the deadly swipes of the flying knight wasn't exactly right. _"We can't keep this up forever! Damn, if those giant Subterraneans at least stopped coming, maybe we would have the chance to…!"_

"I know what you're thinking. It's all in your face right now…you think you can keep it up until no more of the Super Subterraneans can come to back me up, don't you?" Renri brutally interrupted the undead's train of thought with a new hit from his sharp claws, sending him skidding back several meters. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but…Synthesis Twelve prepared over a hundred of them just for this mission."

Horror and shock ran through every defender of the hideout at the grim revelation, even as two more of the massive monsters dug their way into the chamber from the very dirt walls.

"Uolo, fall back and meet up with Azurica!" growled Gorgolosso while breathing heavily and preparing for another charge. "We will…!"

"Like hell am I letting you behind, Gorg!" retorted the other young man while slamming his useless Gatling against one of the attacking creature's legs, partially breaking it and letting it trip right on Tiese's deadly path. "We're either making it out of here all together or none at all!"

"Then it shall be the second one, criminals!" declared Renri while unleashing another energy blast against the every-second-more-hopeless warriors.

Meanwhile…Selka Zuberg just listlessly kneeled beside the burned remains of Frenica, staring at the remains of the bird-like Mysterious Being with blank and tear-stained eyes, her crystal ball half-forgotten at her side.

She was gone. Dead. No matter how much Elements she wasted, how advanced the Sacred Art she used…the girl that had saved her life wasn't coming back.

Why had this happened? She was running…then there was a shout, then she was shoved aside and…

Weak…too weak, too careless. She should have seen it coming, she should have checked the future before they entered the room, she should…should have…

Kirito was wrong…her powers may be amazing, but…she herself was…too…

"SELKA-CHAN!"

"Move, girl!"

"It's coming for you!"

Selka Zuberg's eyes moved up, in time to see one of the Super Subterraneans (There were even more now…they were going to overwhelm them…) having jumped past her friends and charging towards her, fist-first.

No…she didn't want to die. But, even more so…she didn't want to let them crush Frenica's corpse. They had hurt her more than enough already. She already wasn't going to come back. They should not be allowed to…!

 _Something_ jumped out of her hair, her eyes following it just by a small happenstance…until the tiny speck GREW in an instant, revealing a massive spider with its eight red eyes glowing as it lashed out with its fangs and bit into the startled Subterranean, the creature screaming as the arachnid easily lifted him up despite the size-difference and slammed its spasming body against a wall.

Everyone froze in shock, even Renri and his flying fused-knives, staring at the newly appeared creature as it turned around to look at the wide-eyed Selka…and spoke.

"There is only one reason you were allowed to come this far, when by all means you should have been left behind…" declared the massive arachnid while reaching out with its foremost left leg, seemingly into a hole in the air, and bringing out something of the blackest color, pointing it hilt-first towards the shocked young girl. "So now use it, Child of the Future…and deliver Judgment upon the Puppets of Fate."

It was a sword…yet she could tell it was so much more. Despite still being within the sheath, the sheer pressure it exuded was soul-chilling, like a weight trying to crush down the world around them.

This was a weapon of power. An instrument of loneliness and destruction. A burden made from an ancient and terrible 'curse' placed upon the world by an arrogant 'God', and turned into a blade for a much greater purpose.

Even as Selka Zuberg reached out and half-cradled the sheathed sword, touching the branches-like decorations on the hilt, she instinctively knew that it was not her Fate to wield this weapon. It never was and it never should have been.

However…by a twist of Destiny, by a thousand impossible causalities…it was now here, in her hands.

Unsheathing it with almost reverence, she found herself surprised at being able to wield it. Then again, her Authority was way higher than those of most normal people, thanks to how she finished off that Goblin Chief, one with a Divine Curse, so long ago that it seemed like a different life.

Jet-black, like a piece of the night sky that had all of its stars burned off. Such was the color in that weapon's edge, reflecting no life at all. Unsure of what to do, the tea-haired girl looked to the side…and her eyes saw within her crystal ball, a flashing vision hitting her in an instant.

Someone standing up in an imposing hallway, raising a black blade with a mirror-like edge towards an angry armored figure…

And suddenly, Selka Zuberg knew what she had to do, even as she grabbed her crystal ball with her other hand and held it beside the sword, eyes shining as if they were looked at something beyond herself.

" _System Call. Combine Target Elements…_ "

"I…I won't let you!"

Renri's shout pierced the air with brutality, the Integrity Knight disengaging from Eugeo and shooting upwards, only to then dive down towards the seemingly possessed young girl.

Call him a coward, but the Twenty-Seventh knight was no fool. Somehow, the winged Cursed One KNEW that he shouldn't allow the criminal to complete whatever Sacred Art she was executing, or it would end up in nothing but disaster.

The red-haired vampiress tried to stop him, Tiese roaring and lashing out with her claws. Without even looking at her, the winged knight let his trusted Divine Object fly past him and slam into the girl's stomach, her eyes widening in pain and horror as it tore through her and sent her flying to the side.

"Gah…!"

"TIESE!"

Renri ignored the scream from his earlier opponent in favor of evading the webbing that the massive spider tried to shoot his way, tearing some with his claws and dismissing the little that clung to his wing. He was almost there now, none of the others were even close and he would destroy both the girl and the spider with just one of his energy shots from this distan…

"YOU BASTARD!"

 **Hate. Vengeance. Rage.**

All of it seemed to explode from somewhere behind Renri with an unearthly roar, making his eyes widen and his body to spin around, just in time to see Eugeo glaring at him with slitted eyes from where he stood half-holding Tiese's bleeding form, his axe raised and warping in his direction…and also the source of all that nigh-physical power.

"What in the…?!"

"I WON'T FORGIVE YOU! _RELEASE RECOLLECTION!_ "

Two words roared with a Hate-filled Will, fueled by a Hate-burning Memory. Incarnation bridged the lack of the proper Art and, once again, enforced Imagination into Reality as the weapon within Eugeo's hold extended forward with almost animalistic fury, the axe growing forward and terribly.

Except that it was an axe or a weapon no more, even as a long tail of bone wrapped around the undead boy's arm, digging into his flesh in a way that would have been deadly for any normal human, the legless skeleton of a massive dragon impossibly roaring as it unfolded its wings and tore through the air in an instant, cutting through the Subterraneans in its way with its brutally sharp limbs while opening its maw and brutally catching the winged knight within, changing trajectory just to slam him against the wall.

Screaming in agony, Renri forced all of his inhuman strength against the jaws threatening to close around him, feeling his still Released Twin-Edged Wings tearing against the skeleton's skull in an attempt to free him, but the beast seemed to not feel any pain, and it was just seconds away from crushing…!

The bone cracked, startling the Integrity Knight. Wide-eyed, he saw it all starting to grow brittle around him, losing its pristine white color for a dull gray instead.

"Wha-what…?! NO! Just…a little bit longer…!"

Eugeo's scream made the winged warrior's eyes narrow, realizing the truth.

The boy's Willpower was not enough. It wasn't powerful enough to force a Memory Release out of his weapon without the needed Sacred Art. At least, not a lasting one.

With that certainty burning within, Renri flared his own Incarnation and let out another blast of energy, tearing the bone-construct apart and freeing himself, in time to see Eugeo's despair-filled face as he held Tiese and glared at him.

"Futile, undead boy! Even your most desperate efforts can't win against the might of the Axiom Church's Justi…!"

" _…unleash."_ finished chanting a tiny voice, making the knight's blood freeze as his head spun to the side, inhuman eyes fixed…

On Selka's shakily standing form, holding the same black sword of before, only that now the center of its blade had seemingly been replaced by some unnatural crystal that perfectly reflected everything around it like a bewitching mirror, the girl's eyes fixed on the blade as the weight it now had, more a mystical than a real one, threatened to crush her arms.

And so… she intoned two familiar words.

" _Enhance Armament._ "

At the edge of Reality, [DESTINY] stood over his metaphorical chessboard, his hand reaching above a single, simple-looking pawn, with a crystal ball instead of its top and wood-like growths all around it.

It was such a curious thing, how everyone forgot about Pawns so easily, thinking them meaningless pieces…despite the fact that, in an instant, if a certain situation was created, they could easily turn the entire game around with a single action.

"[Promotion…Queen.]"

The world stilled. Then, it shook as countless branches of 'darkness' exploded from the sword in every single direction, piercing through the air and everything on their way in a second.

Every Super Subterranean was speared through, the branches growing countless 'roots' that spread and tore through their insides as they kept going, tearing through the walls if they didn't exist.

That wasn't surprising, though. After all, one of the twin-memories now forming the sword held in Selka Zuberg's hands was a certain tree that people had called 'demonic'. One over 300 years old, that stood taller than almost every human-made construct in the entire Underworld. A lonely tree that had been planted with nothing but controlling the growth of the innocent people living close to the frontier so they could never expand as its purpose. As such, it had been given terrible and unnatural powers that no plant should ever have.

Its roots could dig into the soil through dozens of meters to absorb all of Terraria's blessings as if it was easy, draining the life out of everything around it, not letting any trees to grow around it in a perfect circle. Its branches grew towards the sky, draining all of Solus' light and absorbing it with its leaves faster and harder than any other tree in existence, once again denying all plant life in the area from growing strong.

The tree stood powerful…but also immensely lonely. It was the only one of its kind, and its mere existence killed all other trees around it. All that it had in existence were the humans trying to kill him day after day for decades, never knowing the true reason behind its hopeless Destiny.

However…now it had something else. Finally, after so long, it had something, in this new and strange form.

It was a sphere made out of unnatural crystal, one whose only purpose was to reflect the soul of a certain girl. One girl that had been 'Blessed' with the accursed power of peering into that which hasn't happened yet, to know things that would come before anyone could.

And so, now both Memories worked as one, following the Will of that young girl as they tore through the air, the Gigas Cedar annihilating everything on their way while the Crystal Ball allowed Selka to SEE through every single branch and root, as if she had a thousand eyes, every single one peering into the future to know what and where to hit.

Eugeo and Tiese stared in shock as the storm of darkness passed around them, not touching them by inches.

Gorgolosso saw the branches surrounding him and perfectly tearing into the Subterranean that had tried to crush him and Uolo, who mumbled in shock as the endless roots speared into the walls and the ceiling.

Renri Synthesis Twenty-Seven screamed and tried to protect himself, his Twin-Edged Wings soaring before him…and being swallowed by the roaring Darkness, the glow vanishing as both knives lost all the Incarnation powering them, drained by their enemy in an instant, and fell down. Their master had a single instant of horror before it pierced into his chest, legs, arms and wings, all but nailing him to the ceiling as his screaming continued, feeling the branches draining everything inside him, from the water of his body to the life of his very organs…

Through the entire hideout, Cursed Ones gasped or screamed, seeing the branches piercing through the walls, the roots growing and annihilating their enemies but sparing them without effort, Azurica watching in muted shock.

Near the entrance, Ronye Arabel lowered her arms in shock, the tiredness that had started to consume her forgotten as she saw the roots of darkness finish off all her remaining enemies.

In a certain hallway, Sortiliena ran as she could through the ever-growing darkness, Kirito in front of her as he tried to head for their source, a terrible feeling clouding his heart.

More and more, the branches grew, until every single enemy still standing within the underground lair was consumed, some even emerging into the surface and greedily drinking on Solus' light.

Then…they all froze, their image 'glitching' as if they were a badly-attuned image.

Looking down as the last dregs of his Life vanished, Renri Synthesis Twenty Seven saw Selka Zuberg shaking as tears of blood ran down her face, her glowing eyes meeting his dying ones for an instant.

"Mons…ter…" whispered the winged knight as his form shuddered and 'shrank', his skin losing its red color and his hair, nose, and eyes turning back into those of a normal young man, one barely looking like a teenager, even the very Curse that had powered and twisted him drained away by the blade.

"…it is done." sentenced the giant spider while looking at the young girl in pity.

With a small cry, the Seer let go of the sword, all of its 'darkness' being sucked back into it in an instant, even as her eyes lost their shine, now looking dull and empty as she slowly fell onto her side.

 ** _-System Error. Fluctlight Strain surpassed. Feedback-loop unsustainable. Co…llap…sing…-_**

On the distance, Selka thought she heard someone familiar calling her name, other voices joining in the next second, but they all felt so far away, even as the mirror sword of darkness crashed onto the ground.

Before her very soul shut down into itself…the young girl let out one single, longing word.

"Alice-neesama…"

At the edge of Reality, [DESTINY] saw the newly promoted Queen piece crack, even as the two Knight pieces and countless Pawns that had been threatening the group collapsed and vanished, vanquished in a single instant.

"[…opposition terminated, included Winged and Serpent Knight. Seer Queen indefinitely unavailable. The Chains close in.]"

Looking 'up' at the pulsating Chains in a vague semblance of human sadness, the youngest Absolute One closed his eyes.

"[…your move, Black-White King…]"

* * *

 **…**

 **…STARTING…**

 **…OPENING REPORT LOG.**

 **Warning. All connection to the Fluctlights of Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-One (** Amai Mask **) and Renri Synthesis Twenty-Seven (** Sky King **) has been lost. Both knights presumed dead, but incongruence detected as their Blessing and Curse have not returned to the cycle. Unable to reach a satisfying conclusion. Further information is unavailable.**

 **Furthermore, error detected within the Light Cube Cluster. A single Fluctlight seems to have collapsed upon itself from an unknown strain at roughly the same instant the connection to both Synthetized Units was lost. 98.78% chance both events are related.**

 **Operation to exterminate the Anomaly and its allies preemptively considered a failure. Emergency measures must be taken immediately.**

 **END OF REPORT LOG.**

 **SENDING TO ADMINISTRATOR…**

…

…

…

…so close…yet so far…

* * *

 **Arc 3: Knights of Despair-END**

* * *

 _Next…_

 **A Reality that collapses…**

 _Suguha:…hey, Ar…Shiori? Are we crazy?_

 _Shiori: Sugu, dear, your bicycle came to pick us up by itself and I have claws growing from my hands…what do you think?_

 _Suguha:…you're right. Now, let's go help Onii-chan._

 **Conflicting Souls…**

 _Officer: Emergency! We're under attack!_

 _Kikuoka: What?! That's impossible! How many men?!_

 _At that moment…glowing red eyes appeared on the screen, a monstrous creature lunging through the hallways and dodging bullets like it was nothing._

 _Officer: N-no, sir…it's a monster!_

 **Clashing ideals…**

 _The girl glared, her teeth gritted as she stared at the amused man before her._

 _Asuna:…PoH._

 _Vassago: Yoh, Flash. It's been a long time…not since that night in Aincrad, before that silly 'grave', eh? So…have you grown at all since then? Or are you still scared of killing someone?_

 _In answer…a blade was raised against him, eyes flashing black and golden for an instant._

 _Asuna: Regardless of that…I won't let you hurt him._

 **…and the Time of the End is finally at hand.**

 _Yuuki:…Keita, everyone…did you hear that?_

 _Keita: What…?_

 _Philia:…guys…? We should Log Out now…something…something is happening outside…the sky seems to be…breaking…?_

 **Next time in 'One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate':**

 **Interlude: The Twilight of Reality**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Maaan, that was quite the chapter, eh? Hope you enjoyed it!

A lot of things happened here, but what I think is best to point out is how much more 'broken' everyone in the Underworld is in this Universe compared to Canon. I have been slowly teasing it for some chapters now, but, as anyone that has read all of the novels should know, Incarnation is utter bullshit if you master it hard enough, and can casually power you up from the Power-Level of a Background Isekai Character to that of a High-Tier Shonen one if you're good enough. In this story's Universe, by warping the Underworld with the power of OPM, Kikuoka effectively succeeded in his original endeavor for Project Alicization, with the side-effect that everyone is way more capable of harnessing the power of Imagination because their 'Suspension of Disbelief', so to speak, is much lower and their Will is enforced by their innate ability to do things normal humans would find 'beyond impossible' in the first place.

As it's obvious, the I. Knights are the ones showing this off the most, which is why Eldrie was able to use his snake-whip much better than his Canon counterpart ever could, also by having become a knight way earlier than the former. And Alice…well, she was already stupidly broken in Canon, so give her Flashy Flash's powers and force her to fight in a world where 'monsters' are real and such…yeah (She most likely wouldn't have been able to kill the REAL Evil Natural Water, but Artificial Fluctlights have a breaking point as you all know, and being turned into steam was enough for this one). If anyone is interested, she reshaped what remained of her armor into Flashy Flash's signature one, but in golden, obviously :O

Also, obligatory Rider Kick, because they're awesome and because Liena-sempai is cool :)

Oh, and for those interested, Frenica was Tiese's roommate and friend in Canon Alicization, also Humbert's valet/page, even anime-only people know how she originally was by now. Can anyone guess which Mysterious Being she i...was?

With that said…we're quite far in now, eh? We're officially past the halfway mark of Chains of Fate right now with this arc over, and things are going to get hectic. The consequences of what Selka just did, which I will let you all to analyze by yourselves instead of giving clues, will be shown next time…but before that, we will have another Interlude! For as Kirito and the rest head for the last part of their journey, IRL things are also coming to their climax…

But well, now I shall leave you all with today's Omake to relax your mood after all of that! Hopefully you enjoy it too!

* * *

 **Capes and Roses 9**

This wasn't the first time in the last few days that Team RWBY's dorm room was filled with an odd tension. However, this time it wasn't out of some terrible drastic worry about the unknown whereabouts of a friend, but for a much…simpler concern.

Unless you were Yang Xiao-Long, who was pacing from side to side of the room and glancing continuously towards the door. Sitting on their respective beds, one reading one of her books and the other noting down something on her scroll, her friends and teammates gave her a deadpan stare from what felt like the tenth time in the last hour.

"Seriously, Yang, calm down, Ruby will be here soon." sighed Blake while going back to her book, trying to muster the needed peace of mind to enjoy her usual readings.

"Yes, anyone would say you have no idea about where she is or what she was doing…totally not like we just left her 20 minutes ago." sarcastically commented Weiss before looking back to her scroll, mumbling about letting stupidity make her waste an entire evening.

"Yeah, but do you know how many things can happen in 20 minutes?! Especially to an unsupervised innocent girl like my sister?! Gah, why did I agree to come back with you when we overheard them saying they should start heading back?!"

"Because we didn't want them to notice we had been stalking them the whole day and Ruby would have definitively suspected if we happened to take the same Bullhead as her when coming back?" rhetorically questioned the Cat Faunus of the group before simply putting down her book. "Look, even if we didn't already pretty much knew the kind of person Kirito is, I think we spied on them enough to know neither he nor Ruby actually were…"

The room's door chose that moment to open, silencing the girls and attracting their gazes in time to see a chirpy Ruby Rose entering the dorm with a skip in her step, holding a mid-sized box in her hands and a smile in her face.

"Hey girls! How did your day go?" asked the team leader as she casually sat on her bed and put the box beside it, fiddling to grab her pajamas from where they were folded under her pillow.

"Oh, you know, boring and stuff, not really important!" waved it off Yang with a bright smile, her previous mood seemingly gone even as the other two gave her a disbelieving look. "That said, how did your date go?"

"Ooooh, it was awesome! First we had some ice cream (Did you know there are cookie-flavored ones?! Why did no one ever tell me?!), then we took a stroll through Vale, then we went to the arcade and had a blast crushing each other (Who would have thought he was so good?!), and then we went all the way to the outer walls and sat up there to eat some snacks while watching the sun setting and it was all…!" freezing, it seemed that her sister's full words finally registered on Ruby's mind, her face burning a red brighter than her cape as she spun around and pointed at her with a shaky finger. "Wawawawa…! IT WAS NOT A DATE! JUST TWO FRIENDS GOING OUT TO HAVE A GOOD TIME!"

"…everything you just described totally sounded like a date, though." casually commented Weiss without even looking away from her scroll, a surprisingly attentive Blake just nodding along.

"It was not!" emphasized the youngest girl present while waving her arms, face still burning red. "We just talked and had fun together! And then we spent the time talking about Team Tactics and ways we could improve our performances for the next training session! Lo-look, I even have notes to lend to Team JNPR and everything here in my scroll…"

"…it's okay, Rubes, I believe you. I know you can't lie to save your life." laughed Yang while ruffling her pouting sister's hair. "By the way, what's on the box?"

"…what box? I don't see any box." spoke Ruby with a suddenly weirdly 'wooden' tone, making the rest of her team blink and look at her, then at the box beside her bed. "…oooh, you mean THAT box…! Well…it's nothing important at a…Yang!"

Uncaring of her sister's (Poor) attempts at stopping her, the blonde brawler grabbed the box, opened and…blinked in surprise, before looking at her nervously laughing and blushing sister.

"Ruby…why are you carrying an empty brand new box for a scroll?"

"I-it's not brand new, actually, we got from a second-hand…I mean, I forgot to throw it out! Which I'm going to do right now!" squeaked the caped girl before snatching the box from Yang's hands and backing off towards the door. "And this isn't totally just because I wanted a way to actually reach Kirito at any moment! And even if it was, it totally has nothing to do with anything besides him being my first friend!"

And after over-clarifying all of those facts, Ruby turned into a storm of petals and fled the room, leaving behind 3 blinking girls. The next moment, the busty blonde overdramatically collapsed to her knees.

"Oh no…it has finally happened…my little Rubaby has gone through puberty!"

"…she's 15, Yang, not 12." groaned Weiss before giving a look towards Blake. "Can you believe her?…Blake?"

"…huh? Oh yeah, Yang, drama, exaggerating, totally." nodded the cat girl while still staring to where Ruby had vanished to with sharp eyes, before turning to look towards the window. "…you know…if what he told us earlier was true…"

"He's NOT some sort of super ghost from another Universe, Blake."

"Whatever, but…doesn't it make you wonder where he even stays at night?"

The Schnee Heiress blinked, actually pausing to consider that. Even if what he said was utter madness…he _did_ have a place to stay, right?

At that moment, in the middle of a small clearing in the Emerald Forest, a naked figure sat within the tiny lake on the center, letting out a relieved sigh.

He may not need bathing at all in his current form, but Ruby had certainly reminded Kirito how important small 'normal' pleasures could be to try and keep himself 'human'. That was something he always had a hard time reminding during these types of summons, where he wasn't bound to anyone in specific.

Even so…

"…you know, it's bad manners to spy on people, whoever you are." nonchalantly commented the black-haired 'boy' without opening his eyes, half-submerging his head into the cold water. "I know you have been following us all day, too.

"…and you're way too sharp for a kid that randomly decides to take a bath in the middle of the night on a Grimm-infested forest." spoke someone while stepping out of the tree he had been hiding behind. "How long have you been onto me?"

"Pretty much since we went into the arcade. Crows don't usually enter loud and people-filled places to spy on a 15-years-old unless something is very wrong with the world." commented the Heroic Spirit before finally giving the newcomer a look.

It was a man of graying black spiky hair, dull red eyes and slight stubble along his jawline, with what seemed like some sort of blade lying horizontally across his lower back, and a tattered red cloak.

"Damn…should have been a little more subtle, I guess…"

"Oh no, don't worry, most normal people wouldn't have noticed you at all, and to give you credit you thought you were just following a couple of teens doing random things in town." casually stated Kirito while half-standing from the water, staring at his reflection and that of the half-destroyed moon. "I'm just way too paranoid, comes with the experience…Qrow Branwen, I presume?"

"Wha…? How do you know that?!"

"Ruby has mentioned her 'Awesome Uncle Qrow' at least a dozen times this evening; I would have to be pretty stupid to not deduce that after a couple questions to clarify who you were." Chuckled the Caped Hero before giving him a sideways look. "So, is there is any reason you were spying on me besides being worried about your niece, Mr. Shapeshifter?"

For an instant, Qrow tensed, feeling as if he was a tiny little ant in the presence of a giant wondering what his life even meant…

Then, it was gone and he was blinking, the boy now standing outside the lake and…fully clothed again. How the hell had he done that so fast?!

"…just who the hell are you, kid? Where did you even come from?" demanded the man while walking cautiously towards the seemingly harmless boy in silly clothes, his instincts telling him he was anything but. "Why are you always around my niece and her fri…?"

The moment Qrow got around 5 meters from Kirito, IT happened.

Suddenly, the closest tree snapped by seemingly no reason and almost crushed the seemingly surprised Caped Hero, the Huntsman shouting in surprise even as he casually punched it aside, into the pack of Bewolves that had randomly sneaked upon them, crushing them to a pulp, only for a Nevermore to crash-land just behind them the next second, Qrow quickly raising his trusty Harbinger and decapitating it before it could react.

Gasping for breath, the man turned around again, only to see a wary Heroic Spirit staring at him from a noticeable distance now.

"You…you have Negative Probability-Altering abilities, don't you?"

"…what?" asked Qrow while giving him a blank stare.

"Bad luck powers?" sighing at seeing the Huntsman freeze in shock, Kirito couldn't help but sigh. "Okay, don't worry, I won't go saying it around, but please try and stay over 10 meters away from me, please? I…am kinda cursed, you could say, and when someone who can indirectly let [FATE] skip over his own stupid rules just to spit on me gets too close, horrible things happen for seemingly no reason."

"What kind of curse…would do that?"

"The worst kind, believe me. Have you ever been shot by a railgun the size of a train? Forced to survive atmospheric re-entry because the wrong God got pissed at you? Or roundhouse kicked off a mech by another mech named after a knight famous for betraying his king's trust while flying faster than most planes?" seeing Qrow's even more disbelieving look, Kirito couldn't help but grin. "Yep, I have been through way too much shit myself, Mr. Branwen…but rest assured, I mean your niece or her friends no harm. If anything, I want them to be ready to face whatever harm may come their way."

"…and how much exactly do you know about that particular subject?" questioned the Huntsman with narrowed eyes.

For all answer, Kirito smiled…and then blurred out of existence, so fast that the man couldn't even see in which direction he went.

"Nothing at all, Qrow-san. But I have been through enough to know teens going blind on something way over their heads because adults don't tell them what they should don't ever ends well at all." spoke the Heroic Spirit's voice from seemingly all around Qrow. "And I sure as hell don't want that happening to Ruby and the rest. Have a good night, Mr. Branwen…I will be around."

And with that, his presence completely vanished, leaving the Huntsman alone in the darkened forest with way more questions than answers.

He would have to report all of this strange exchange to Ozpin, hope the man could make some sense of it all…but he had to hand one to the kid: He knew how to make a cool exit.

However, even as he turned into an actual crow once again and flew into the sky, he couldn't help but make one thing clear, even if he wasn't around anymore to hear it.

"…if you hurt my niece, no matter how good you are…there will be hell to pay."

At that same moment, somewhere deep within the forests of Vale…the 'something' that _did not belong_ which had followed a certain haphazardly summoned Heroic Spirit into Remnant _stirred_.

Ever so slowly, the shadows of the world abandoned by its Gods started to loom darker…

* * *

 **Author's Notes 2:** Some fun, some weird, and some foreshadowing. Whenever he goes, it seems Kirito can't help but attract troubles, uh?

Well, that's all for now! Seeya all next time in Eroge's Update! Hopefully that can come out soon, but I may be making a trip soon, so I can't guarantee it XP

Until then, though, this is Saint, signing off!


	14. Interlude: The Twilight of Reality

Hey everyone! Been some time, right? Sorry for the delay, things have been quite busy and a bit hard for me this month, between some personal issues and trying to find a job (Which is a bit hard during these times for me, despite my best efforts) my writing time got quite reduced, and then there is the fact that OPG is currently the 'hardest' to write of my fics, as it's the one that requires the most planning and careful revision of events, the Update got a bit delayed despite being relatively short XP

That said, at a good friend's suggestion, I have opened a Pa treon page for everyone that may want to support my writing. Mind you, I won't put any of my work behind paywalls, ever, nor 'post in advance' anything there, or stop writing because I don't get money there, it's just a small thing to see if anyone would want to help out little old me :P Imagination is free, after all, and sharing it should be made out of enjoyment, not to get something in return, and for me all of you having fun reading my craziness will always be more than enough :)

Regardless of that, you can go there now to see a publicly available cover for an unwritten idea of mine that an old friend commissioned some time ago and a bit of explanation on it, the link is on my Profile Page!

But well, with all of that aside, I leave you now with this following Interlude, everyone! Things are about to get real, and the end is coming for the real world while Kirito and the Underworldians are getting ready for the last part of their journey! Enjoy!

Oh, and remember, help filling out this story's TvTropes page is always appreciated!

Enjoy!

 **PS:** Oh, and go check out ' **PsychiK** ', the new SAO story from my friend KnightEstoc, if you have time! It's a hilarious cracky tale about Kirito being 'the strongest psychic in the world' XD!

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Interlude: The Twilight of Reality**

 **April 3rd, 2026. Ocean Turtle, Soul Translators' Inner Rooms. 14:30…**

The faint sound of beeping medical equipment brought Yuuki Asuna a lot of bittersweet memories.

First time she had heard those sounds had been while recovering in the hospital after the ALO Incident, alternating between being glad to have finally returned to being annoyed at Sugou for her extra-months of incarceration, mixed with the happiness of seeing everyone again in the real world and the fire of her budding rivalry with Suguha (How much can things change, eh?)

The second time she had heard them constantly had been after discovering the truth about Yuuki's condition, every time she would go visit the young girl she had become such good friends with, remember how much she tried to crush the helplessness it caused her, only for her dearest person to end up pulling a miracle and saving the day at the end, like he always did since she met him.

And that was why, staring through the thick protective glass that separated them from the room, her heart felt unusually heavy and burdened, staring at the strongest person she had ever known, the boy she loved more than anything in the world, lying there helplessly, his skin (Or what could be seen of it that wasn't covered by clothes or under the headset) looking slightly pale.

Kirigaya Kazuto's body lay within the Soul Translator, the special bed gel in which he lay combined with the distance making him seem so motionless that it was hard to tell he wasn't dead. It was just the continuous sound and visage of the cutting-edge medical equipment connected to the machine that let them know he was alive at all, as his breathing wasn't even noticeable at that distance.

At her side, the chestnut-haired girl noticed Rika putting a hand against the glass, worry, and disbelief flooding off her eyes as she bit her lips, which made her feel even sadder. The blacksmith was by no means weak, but her friend probably was taking the sight and situation worse than her, if only because she had never seen the gamer so 'weak' before, and the mere idea that something could bring him down like that was anathema to her.

It was something she was just now realizing, in fact, even as she was keenly aware of some whimpering sounds coming from the tablet she carried and how the security cameras of the hallway and the room before them were continuously adjusting themselves and aiming towards Kazuto's unmoving form and nothing else, clear sign of how Yui and Strea weren't taking the sight any better.

All of them, every single member of their bizarre 'family', the UHA…they had grown too used to seeing Kazuto as 'invincible'. Almost without realizing it, they had just slowly come to think, despite him always trying to make a point of the contrary, that the boy would always emerge victorious of any situation, that he would always manage to solve the problems and save the day, in the end.

In SAO, in ALO, in GGO, saving Yuuki's life…and the impossible miracle he pulled off to come back and win for them in Utopia, stopping Equinox at the last moment, had just reinforced that belief even more.

That's why they had all but collapsed upon themselves when he vanished after being attacked and almost killed. Why she and Suguha had blamed themselves so harshly at their powerlessness, the young kendoka even more than her, likely because she thought she could have done something against Xaxa's monstrous power just for being the 'Bicycle Girl'. Which was foolish thinking, but understandable.

Asuna regretted having been unable to talk with her again after Shiori and Shino found her, especially given she had actually faced directly against the red-eyed monstrosity, but circumstances had forced her hand and she had been unable to just stay until she woke up. She would have to have a long talk with her after this was all over…probably give her a long hug too.

Then, she would get the entire group together and, with Kazuto present, they would have a long 'session'…technically not therapy, but there were a lot of things that they would probably be better off taking off their chests and sharing. Simple, mundane things they usually never really talked about, just so they could remind themselves that, all the craziness aside, they were still just a bunch of normal teenagers.

…they probably would go back to talking about their crazy plans for the future and the insane adventures they had lived through the very next day, but hey, it was the thought was counted.

"…Yui, Strea." mumbled Asuna while finally breaking the long silence. "How is he?"

"…stable, as far as we can read." came out Yui's hoarse voice after a short silence. "The treatment is working as it's supposed to, his brain is being healed, but…well, it's all experimental, as you know. There are no guarantees…but his Fluctlight is still completely intact, if the Soul Translator is to be believed."

" _We_ could have just told you that, you know?" complained Kikuoka with a small frown, even as he also gazed towards the boy that was the cause of the whole mess he now found himself in, and that could get him more than simply fired if word of it ever got out to his superiors.

How did you excuse having your entire facility and all its super-secret systems and filed hijacked by two teenage girls, after all?

"I'm pretty sure they don't really trust a single word that comes out from your mouth, nor will they anytime soon, Kikuoka." snorted Rinko with a small shake, before her eyes drifted back towards the unmoving form of Kazuto. "…you know, I also thought of it the last time I saw him, but…he just looks so… _unimpressive_ , compared with everything he has done…"

"Kirito is the strongest person we have ever met, so please, be kind enough to not judge him from how he looks while unconscious after saving two of our friends from almost being killed by a monster, Rinko-san." acidly replied Rika while clenching her fists, making the woman wince and mutter an apology while looking away. "…you two…will he really recover? He's…going to be okay, right?"

"We-well…the whole treatment is experimental, as your little virtual friend mentioned, but…we have no reason to believe it won't work, really. As you just confirmed…it's going well." doing his best to sound as hopeful as he wanted to be, Higa gestured towards the machines showing Kazuto's vital signs with a determined look. "As long as his Fluctlight continues receiving the stimulation it needs, he should be perfectly fine once his brain has finished healing…at least, in theory."

"…that's why you loaded him inside that world, right? The Underworld?" spoke Strea with that unusually serious voice that made Asuna wish things had never gotten to this point, because of how _wrong_ it sounded on the ever-happy AI. "A way to ensure his 'sense of self' would continue active and intact despite his body being unable to let him regain consciousness…but, what if something happens to him?"

"What would it?" questioned Kikuoka with a small shrug. "We made sure he would end up 'Logging in' on one of the most harmless and out of the way places of the entire Underworld. A small farming and woodcutting village near the edge of the Human Empire…there is nothing in there that can cause any problems."

"…Kikuoka-san, have you fucking forgotten WHO you're talking about?" deadpanned the chestnut-haired girl present while glaring at him, before turning towards her tablet. "Strea, Yui-chan, can you track him down? See where he's going?"

"…no, Asuna-mama, it's impossible." mumbled the youngest-looking MHCP with a frustrated look. "The Acceleration Mechanic the world is running at makes it impossible to accurately monitor the inside of the Underworld as long as it's activated. What we saw before in the main command room was slowed-down footage of the biggest city on it for a reason…"

"Then turn it off." mercilessly declared Rika with a clear frown. "Knowing Kirito, he has somehow managed to face off against some evil plot trying to take control of that world from the shadows or something crazy like that…"

"Even if something as impossible as that could happen under our noses, there is no way Kirigaya-kun would put himself at risk inside an unknown environment while totally powerless." scoffed Kikuoka while adjusting his glasses. "After all, inside there, he's just as normal as any other inhabitant of the Underworld. None of his famous impossible abilities on the virtual world are present in there."

For a moment, everything was still as the present members of the United Heroes Association processed that, the girls' eyes widening while the two Artificial Intelligences froze, a mix of disbelief and dread in their eyes.

"…huh, they suddenly went very still…"

"…was it something I said?"

"…Gods, how have you two morons made it so high in the Japanese Government?" moaned Rinko while covering her face, just as Asuna spun around and held the bespectacled agent's shoulders with uncanny strength, making him gasp in pain.

"Are you telling me sensei has been inside there for months, _without_ his powers, and without anyone checking what he has been up to?! For the love of…! Yui-chan, turn that Acceleration off, we're going inside there if needed just to make sure…!"

"You can't!" stopped her Higa with a panicked look, quickly looking around despite knowing they were completely alone in the observation area. "The Acceleration is the main way in which Project Alicization runs! Unless it's for a scheduled maintenance or check-up, it's never turned off, hence why…"

"…why they got Kirito inside under the excuse of an emergency maintenance. Their superiors' only direct monitoring of this facility is through the Acceleration Engine, because the Ocean Turtle is only directly connected to the mainland through the Roppongi Branch of Rath." finished Strea with an annoyed pout, Yui patting her little sister on the back to keep her calmed down. "If there is an unauthorized change in the Acceleration, like it being set down to x1 for longer than an emergency, they will know through the satellite link they have between both facilities."

"…and I'm guessing that's how sen…Kirito-kun was able to enter this Underworld last time despite the main 'computer' being here and him in Roppongi, right? Dammit." cursed Asuna after receiving a nod from both virtual sisters, Yui even bringing up an image of the 2 Soul Translators available in the aforementioned mainland facility. "…okay, change of plans. We will stick around until Sensei is better, but I want you two to try and falsify the data needed to schedule a 'maintenance' as soon as possible. I may love him, but heavens know Kirito-kun is unable to not get into trouble if alone for long enough."

"And without his powers to boot…remember last time? When he tried doing that 'Saitama-training' for real and ended on the hospital after fainting on his own doorstep?" grimacing at the memory, Rika shook his head before glaring towards the unconscious boy. "You better not be doing anything stupid in there, Kirito!"

"Heh…knowing papa, he's probably saving someone and maybe even unknowingly charming a new mama while he does it." joked Yui with a half-smile, attempting to lift the tense mood.

Her words managed to make both of the oldest females from the UHA to freeze, though, as the 'joke' was something that had happened…way too many times for them to simply take it lightly. Taking deep breaths, Asuna counted up to 3 while Rika's eyebrows twitched.

"…say, is anyone else feeling hungry?" asked Rinko out loud upon noticing their discomfort, clearly not wanting to be anywhere near the duo if they lost their nerves again…especially if the chestnut-haired girl could still summon that sword out of nowhere.

"W-we do have a very nice cafeteria in one of the upper levels." nervously commented Higa, clearly also noticing the explosive mood both girls suddenly were in. "I'm pretty sure you're both hungry, s-so…what do you say we all go grab a bite? It's not as if standing there will get Kirigaya-kun to recover any faster…"

"…sure, I could use some food, I guess. We need to restore the energy we burned to get here, after all." sighed Asuna while finally relaxing, grabbing Rika's elbow and gesturing for her to follow as she turned around, giving the two men a calculating stare for a moment before her face morphed into an 'innocent smile'. "Lead the way, Kikuoka-san, Higa-san…and remember, no trying to scream for help, okay? Also, if you could explain everything you can about that world Sensei is in right now while we walk, it would be extremely helpful."

Groaning, the pair in charge of Project Alicization nodded and started walking, quickly followed by the two girls and flanked by a tired-looking Rinko, who was once again wondering if helping out with this had been a mistake.

All the while, Strea, and Yui continued watching through the cameras showing Kazuto's room, before the latter sighed and commented that she was going to inform Yuuki of what they had found, vanishing in a swirl of data.

Barely nodding in acknowledgment, the younger Mental Health Counseling Program simply kept staring at the unmoving form of the person she, and everyone she cared for, loved the most in the world.

Who knew becoming so 'human' could be so painful…?

* * *

Kirigaya Suguha knew she wasn't someone most people would call 'normal' even before the current events took place. Maybe not even 'sane' at all.

Then again, that probably was obvious since the moment she took riding around in a bicycle with a shinai in hand dispensing justice for the innocent was a good way to deal with the feeling of helplessness that having her brother trapped in a Death Game caused on her.

Yet, despite all of that, everything had always worked out. Somehow, she, Kazuto and everyone else had always come out on top, surpassed their problems, be it personal or general ones. Hell, in a way, one could say they had 'saved the world' not long ago.

She had always just rolled with it, done her best to keep going, smiling all the way, because she was happy. Because she loved the life she and the others were leading.

But, now that things had truly taken a deadly and crazy turn for everyone involved, the young kendoka truly wondered if she shouldn't have noticed earlier that something was 'wrong' with everything happening around them.

Now, as she stood beside Justice in an alley near the hospital she and Shiori had just sneaked out of, mentally nodding to her bicycle's updates about everything that had taken place while they slept, Suguha pondered if maybe she should have noticed it wasn't that she or her friends were 'going' crazy, but that the world around them had slowly getting crazier and crazier…

"Hey, Suguha? I'm done." blinking as she came into the alley after having used a nearby convenience store to purchase some snacks and bottles of water, Izawa Shiori saw the far-away look on the other girl's eyes, making her frown. "Hey…you okay?"

"…Ar…Shiori. Please, tell me…are we crazy?"

"…that's one hella question to ask someone, you know?"

"I mean…we just escaped from a hospital as if it was no big deal, all based around a random hunch I had while sleeping. And we even knocked out a nurse that saw us getting out of the backdoor, even if we did it 'gently'…" mumbled Suguha with a small sigh.

"Yeah, remind you to teach you how to properly do a sleeper hold someday, as you saw it's hella useful…" drawled the whiskered girl while leaning against the wall beside her friend. "But, in all honesty…do you think we're 'crazy'?"

"If I think so…?" looking down, the young kendoka suddenly clenched her fists, her eyes gaining a sharp look. "No, not at all."

"Well, there you have it!"

"Bu-but…what if that's just me not accepting…?"

"Sugu, dear…your bicycle came to pick us up, almost literally." remarked an amusing-looking Shiori before, casually, raising one her completely healed hands, clenching it a few times while feeling the 'hardness' within them, the tip of unnatural claws emerging from her knuckles for a moment before, with a snort, she pushed them back 'somewhere', leaving her limbs looking completely normal again. "And I have _claws_ growing from the back of my hands. What does that tell you about us 'not accepting sanity'?"

For a moment, Suguha just stared from the whiskered girl's nonchalant face to her bicycle at their side, Justice eagerly shaking and ringing her bell just as she did so.

 _'You're definitively not crazy, Master!'_

"…heh, yeah, sorry about that. You're both right." nodding with a fierce smile now in her face, the young kendoka reached out to her bike, grabbing the helmet hanging on its handlebars and putting the reflective glasses folded within. "Now…let's go save Onii-chan."

"That's the spirit, Bicycle Girl!" cheered the wielder of the Berserk Unique Skill while grabbing the 'cloak' that had been also bundled with Suguha's costume, even as the younger girl grabbed her 'mask' and mounted her 'loyal steed'. "So, what's the plan?"

"There is no way we can catch up to Asuna and Rika as we are, unless Justice suddenly develops the ability to fly…"

 _'I…think I'm not quite there yet, Master…sorry…'_

"…but we know Rath has a building in Roppongi. The one where they originally had Onii-chan doing his 'part-time work' at." finished the young kendoka with narrowed eyes while Argo stood on Justice's back and held onto her shoulders, looking down dubiously a few times before steadying herself. "Even if we can't get them to take us to this 'Ocean Turtle' from there, I'm sure there must have a way to directly contact with Kikuoka there."

"So, go with a gut feeling for another gut feeling towards a probably heavily secured building and hope for the best as we smash our way inside to try and save Kirito and the rest from whatever is coming?" chuckling, Shiori let a toothy smile bloom on her face as Suguha started pedaling, her blood pumping like it had only ever done back in SAO. "Sure! We're quite a lot like Shonen characters at this point, so…Let's do this, _Leafa-chi_!"

"Right back at you, _Argo-san_! Hang tight!"

"Wait, why would I have to…?"

" _Stand-Up Peddling Modeeeee!"_

"Waaaaaaaah…!"

Quite a lot of people turned around at the unexpected creams, more than one gasping and pointing in shock as they saw Japan's 'legendary vigilante' and a new one they had never seen before, speeding down the streets, the latter asking between shouts if they were actually going to just ride all the way to Tokyo.

All the while, the unseen Chains kept tightening their hold on the heavens…

* * *

"…and that's pretty much everything Yui-chan had to report about Kirito's condition." came Yuuki's worried voice out of the Skidbladnir's form as it silently floated inside Toshiyuki's (More like his father's) car, the boy in question and the rest of the former Black Cats sitting inside while he drove away with a worried frown. "I…already called the others, they will be here in ALO in a few minutes so that I can explain it to them, but now there is also…"

"Yes, Yuuki, we know." sighed the former guild leader before nodding towards the flying interactive machine, though never getting his attention off the road. "We will be there to sort things out in a while. For now, explain to everyone that those two are…okay, probably. At least, I'm sure Argo wouldn't have let Kirito's little sister run around injured. As for where they are, well…that's something we can discuss when we're all together."

"You know, I feel as if I'm doing nothing but explaining things right now…it's quite a bit frustrating." confessed the virtual girl with a small sigh, before her tone sounded once again as a semblance of her usual cheerful one. "But that's okay because I'm still helping out to recover Kirito! You will see, we will be back together in no time at all!"

The Skidbladnir 'landed' atop Saori's lap (As the girl was sitting shotgun) a moment later, turning off as Yuuki stepped away from its virtual controls. Silence reigned inside the moving vehicle for a few seconds before the only female present sighed and carefully put the machine between her feet.

"She's really feeling down about his, eh?" mumbled the spear-user with a sad smile.

"Can you blame her, Sachi?" questioned Takuya with a resigned look. "She's probably the strongest out of all of us after Kirito, hell, I think even Asuna and Leafa combined would have a hard time matching her if she went all out…and yet, she has essentially been able to do 'nothing' to help us find him since this shit went down, or at least that's how she sees it."

"Ducker is right, as much as I hate to agree with such a thing." groaned Kenji while slamming his head on the back of his seat. "Even Strea and Yui-chan have been able to do a lot, finding Koujiro Rinko, helping Asuna and Liz take over that weird secret place they have Kirito at…but she has been just sitting there in the log house, keeping us informed as a 'shortcut'. Even she knows it would only take a few minutes more for the sisters to simply jump from a place to the other after telling us things, they just…"

"…gave her something to do so she didn't feel excluded. So she could feel she also was helping out finding Kirito. We know, Tetsuo." interrupted Yonaga with a sad smile. "She knows too, but…it's still helping her, to do anything at all during all of this, so if she wants to ignore it then we should too."

What the one they always called Sasamaru said rang especially true with the boys present inside the car. After all, they probably knew much better than almost anyone what 'feeling powerless' when compared to others was. One quick look to the girl they had once regarded to as a little sister they had to protect and that nowadays had faced and beaten things that could have flattened them in a blink by herself was enough to confirm that.

Yet, none of them had ever wavered, or doubted their value inside the group…the family. They had all always stood together with the amazing females and their 'invincible' leader through everything the world had thrown at them.

They had faced Equinox directly, right beside Asuna and Leafa, and even if the virtual entity had eventually defeated them, they were all more than proud of having bought the UHA enough seconds for Kirito to come back and save the day.

This time, however, it didn't seem as if that would happen, because it was their great hero who needed some saving. This time, they all were doing their best to try and get him back home safe and sound.

Still, neglecting how one of their dearest members was feeling because of it wouldn't do. Even if they had to deal with some unexpected problems along the way…

"I really hope those two are okay…" mumbled Saori while biting her lips as she looked out of the window. "The fact they ran away from the hospital says a lot, they must have felt they had to do something urgent that couldn't wait for them to be discharged, so they had to sneak out, and without their phones on them, that means they also couldn't contact us, but…"

"Yeah, if what Sinon said was accurate, motherfucking Xaxa is still running around like an actual monster. At this point, Lea…Suguha, that is, has run into him the most and survived by a miracle, apparently." grumbled Toshiyuki as they finally arrived at his home. "I'm just really hoping they didn't run off to try and hunt him down or something. I would hate for 'third time is the charm' to work on her…and Kirito would kill us if we had let her run off to get herself killed like that."

"Keita…you know Kirito wouldn't do that. And…I have faith, both in Argo and Suguha-san." nodded the young girl as they all got off the car and, after opening the trunk, retrieved their AmuSpheres. "Whatever they ran off to do, I'm sure they had a good reason for it…maybe even something related to Kirito we don't know about yet!"

"Well, let's hope so, Sachi." sighed the oldest boy with a weak smile. "For now, let's get to ALO and meet up with everyone. Hopefully Yuuki has already filled them in about almost everything…"

A few minutes later, the members of the UHA that were the former the Black Cats entered the log house in Aincrad's 22nd Floor, unofficially their guild's base and also the place most of them called home almost more than they did to their families' houses in the real world.

Inside, everyone else but five were waiting for them, and despite how numerous the United Heroes Association (And adding the Sleeping Knights, who were, surprisingly, also there) was, the lack of those members was heavily felt in the faces of their bizarre family.

Yuuki, who had been talking up until that moment, fell silent for a moment upon seeing the newest arrivals, nodding softly towards them before continuing with her explanation, even as Keita looked towards the tallest female from the peculiar guild, who sent him a small smile upon catching his gaze.

"Siune…we weren't expecting you here." admitted the former guild leader with a bit of embarrassment.

"Yuuki called us a bit earlier; she actually already briefed us before the others came." replied the latest leader of the Sleeping Knights with a complicated expression as the young man sat at her side. "…she was devastated when Kirito-kun vanished, but…we honestly didn't expect things would have gotten _this_ crazy…then again, with him involved, maybe that shouldn't be so surprising…"

"Life is certainly never boring when Kirito is involved, yeah, I gotta hand that to you." shaking his head slightly, Keita looked back at the wielder of Holy Sword, admiring the passionate way in which she recounted the events. "…she's really strong, eh? Not only fighting, but…"

"Since the moment I met her, yes. She always has been." smiling softly at the memory of three cheerful teenage girls jumping around her while telling her she had to join her guild, back in Serene Garden, Siune allowed her melancholic eyes to turn into a proud stare as their images were replaced by the brave Imp standing there and explained the harsh reality of Kirito's situation to the rest of the girls who loved him, the fire in her eyes never diminishing. "And she has just gotten stronger ever since…even more since she met him, Asuna…all of you. Sometimes, I fear she will completely leave us behind one day…"

"You're her family too, Siune." reminded the boy while putting a hand on her shoulder, making her look his way in surprise. "No matter what she does, where she goes or what she becomes capable of…Yuuki-chan would never leave anyone she cares for behind. That's why she's doing her best with what little she can do to help Kirito right now…I'm sure you know that, too."

"…Keita-kun…" mumbled the woman with a wide-eyed look, before her face melted into a soft and grateful smile. "You're right…thanks for reminding me of that."

For a moment, a comfortable silence blossomed between the two, their gazes locked in a relaxed and happy m…

"Gods, get a room already, you two." groaned Jun while rolling his eyes, the young Salamander freezing when his words made the pair snap out of their 'trance' and look at him, Keita with an annoyed look and Siune with one he had come to know as 'Annoyed Big Sister'. "Ah…I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yes…you did."

"Jun…"

Luckily for the youngest 'living' member of the Sleeping Knights, Yuuki finished with her explanations and Silica decided to speak, with a tone that somehow managed to be both somber and hopeful.

"So, essentially, we can only wait and hope for the best until Kirito-san recovers…sad to think about, but we can fully believe in Asuna-san and Liz-san. Their Ninja Ways would never let them fail him." expressed the young kunoichi with a solemn look, though one only needed to look at how tightly she was gripping the annoyed-looking Pina to know how she was really feeling. "I'm sure they will accomplish their mission."

"It may be harsh to accept, but yes, all we can do now is to wait. We have done all we could so far." nodding slowly, as if more to convince herself than others, Philia was clearly conflicted but hopeful, musing everything they had been told. "Still, to think Kirito would end up trapped in 'another world' while he's recovering…he's really a magnet for problems like this, isn't he?"

"Knowing him, he's perfectly fine and playing hero for some new girl right now." snorted Sinon while shaking her head, her eyes narrowing as she looked out of the window. "I'm more worried about where the hell those two ran off to, honestly. I was sure that Suguha-sama had finally seen reason after last night, and I definitively didn't think Argo would entertain any other crazy stunt after we…fought that thing yesterday."

"As reckless as she was these last few days because of what happened to Kirito, we all know Lea…Suguha isn't stupid. She wouldn't just rush off from the hospital like that for no reason after being told we had found him and both Asuna and Liz were on the case, as much as she would also want to be there. Our worries aside, she wouldn't make her mother go through _another_ scare of this level if it wasn't of utmost importance." spoke Sachi with a worried but firm tone, making everyone ponder on her words with small frowns. "If anything, I think maybe we should focus in try and find them, they may need help with whatever this is…"

"Well, unless you have a way of magically tracking them, I think we're stuck on that front. And it's not as if we can ask Strea or Yui for help, they're kind of busy right now." reminded Keita with a resigned look. "And I seriously doubt that we're going to get another miraculous warning out of no…"

The former guild leader's words were suddenly interrupted by the sound of something crashing outside, followed by Tonky making a loud sound and a lot of cursing from a familiar voice. Then, while everyone was blinking towards the door, a blonde Sylph entered the room, stumbling a bit in place and shaking her head, before opening unnatural steel-colored eyes and waving shakily towards the group.

"He-hey there, everyone! Agh! …sorry, I'm a bit distracted, I and Master are a bit busy IRL right now…eat that!" posing dramatically, Justice (Possessing Leafa once again), seemingly hit an invisible foe, before her head quickly spun around to meet the bewildered group. "Yeah, sorry! Would have co-contacted sooner, but I totally…HYA! Uhm…forgot to tell master I could kinda do this without her…TAKE THIS!…without her having connected with her AmuSphere!"

"Justice-san…? Is that you? What's going on?" asked Silica with perplexity, the Sleeping Knights looking extremely lost (Being the first time they witnessed this particular 'phenomenon') while the rest of the UHA suddenly seemed to be paying full attention to the possessed avatar. "And why are you…like that?"

"DODGE…! O-okay, sorry, long story short: Master woke up completely sure something very bad was heading the idi…Kirito's way! So we prepared to sneak out and find a way to get to him! Then, Argo woke up with superpowers…LEFT SIDE! And decided to join us, probably to make sure Master doesn't get herself killed!"

"Wait…Argo what?!" shouted Sinon while everyone else exchanged dumbfounded looks. "What do you mean with superpowers?!"

"She can now grow some claws that look like some hardcore version of he-her VR weapons for re…BEHIND US!" spinning in place, and further confusing the group, Justice growled for a moment before shaking her head and looking back at them with urgency. "So we argued for a bit, then decided to go to Rath's building in Roppongi! If they couldn't take us to this Ocean Turtle place, at least they would be able to let us warn them, right?! But hey, fun thing! Seems this Kikuoka guy was still a bit paranoid about Master and ordered her to be detained on sight 'for her own sake' if she came by! So now we're kicking our way inside to try and get someone to fulfill our fucking request!"

"You mean that…you three are fighting against the entire security of Rath's Roppongi building by yourselves right now?! Are you crazy?!" screamed Philia while everyone stood up in alarm, finally understanding why the bicycle/katana/spirit-thing seemed to 'distracted'. "…wait, what's that about Kirito probably being in danger?"

"Yeah, Master isn't 100% either, but she says she can feel in her heart he's in danger, and I believe…ohshittheyhaveguns! THROW ME, MASTER!" suddenly, the blonde Sylph stood up and jumped towards the nearest wall face-first, a fierce look in her eyes. "JUSTICE CRAAAASH!"

'Leafa' slammed against the wall and shattered into polygons, a message of 'Error: Disconnection' being left in her place for a moment, leaving behind a bewildered group of virtual heroes.

At the same time, in the real world, several armed guards twitched on the ground, completely knocked out even as a bicycle rang her bell menacingly and rolled off them, back to the annoyed-looking teenage vigilante that had just thrown her.

 _'Hah! I took them all down, Master! Oh, and I more or less managed to explain the situation to everyone in ALO!'_

"…that was dangerous." sighed Suguha while shaking her head, before offering a small smile to her loyal mount. "And thanks for that, Justice…Argo? Any luck?"

"Almost…done! ORYA!" with that last shout, Shiori's clawed hand slammed brutally against the closed door she had been hammering against one last time, all but tearing it off its hinges and sending it flying towards the opposite side of the room.

Inside, several scientists and other people that looked like they would only be in charge of paperwork raised their arms, clearly terrified, a few of them frozen where they stood beside two big machines (One of them still half-covered in plastic and other security-transport stuff).

"W-we surrender! Don't kill us!"

"We're not here to kill anyone! I have been shouting that the whole time your 'guards' have been trying to take us down!" growled the young kendoka as she strode into the room, giving a quick glance towards the two Soul Translators before pointing towards one of the researchers. "Hey you! Do you have a way to contact Kikuoka at the Ocean Turtle from here?!"

"How do you know…?! I-I mean, I don't know what you're talking about!" quickly 'denied' the panicked man.

"For fucks sa…let me, Leafa-chi." groaned Shiori before walking forward and making a point of putting her closed fist an inch from the man's face as the metallic plates that formed her unnaturally sharp claws emerged from it, making him and many others scream in shock. "Hear, lives could be at stake here if you don't stop pretending we have no idea about your secret project here and fucking connect us with the Ocean Turtle! Are we clear?!"

"Cry-crystal clear!"

"Good, then get to it!"

"…you know, you're scarily competent at making people comply with what you say, Argo." commented Suguha with slightly wide eyes. "…have you considered joining us to fight against crime?"

"Please, don't tempt me, Leafa-chi. Last night made me both miss the days I was just a humble Info Broker…but also feel oddly cathartic at punching the shit out of Monster Xaxa." sighed the whiskered girl while looking at her strange hand-weapons. "Let's first get through this whole mess, hope we're not all in prison by the end of it, and then we will talk…also, I think I'm hearing more of those guys coming."

"Great…let me handle it. You make sure to warn Asuna and Liz, quick." Having said those words, the Bicycle Girl mounted atop her signature vehicle, tightly gripped her shinai and shot out into the hallway, under the stupefied stares of the people within the room. "Whatever is going for Onii-chan is almost there already, I can feel it!"

Back in New Aincrad, Yuuki cursed with annoyance as she closed the small terminal she had been trying to use, one Strea and Yui had attached to the Skidbladnir's control panel in case of emergencies, before turning hopelessly towards the expectant group.

"It's useless, I can't contact them! That place's security must be so isolated normal calls don't get through…unless either Yui or Strea comes back here, we can't reach them through normal means."

"…yeah, she's right. Not a single call gets through to Asuna, Liz, or Rinko-san's phones." announced Keita as his avatar started moving again, the boy having just Logged Out for a moment to try and contact their friends at the secret facility without success. "Should we try and go to Roppongi to help them?"

"Wouldn't it be too late by the time any of us arrive there?" questioned Silica with a worried from. "Although…

"For that matter, how DID get there in just a couple hours by riding a bicycle?!" demanded Tecchi with clear distress, the second oldest member of the Sleeping Knights still unable to believe that particular bit.

"I don't know…I suddenly have a very bad feeling and I don't know if we should rush anything." answered Sinon to the kunoichi's question even as she bit her lips. "Maybe we should…"

The world _lurched_. There was no other way to describe it, as for a moment the entire virtual reality around the group seemed to twist sideways, then upside down, blur and crack before it violently went back to normal, leaving everyone stunned, shocked and disoriented, more than one having fallen down or stumbled forward at the phenomenon.

They were still trying to regain their bearings when Yuuki gasped, eyes being drawn towards the Imp girl as she reached for the golden blade sheathed at her hips' side, which had started humming dangerously.

"Excaliber…? What…is something…wrong?" mumbled the virtual survivor with utter confusion, as if trying to understand what her legendary sword was trying to transmit, just before some weird and ominous knocks on the door made everyone freeze. "Oh…I should get the door? Okay…"

"Wa-wait, Yuuki!" squeaked Keita as he felt an unusually dark yet familiar presence waiting. "Yo-you shouldn't…!"

Without listening, Yuuki opened the door, revealing the inhumanly tall and thin figure behind it, wearing a 'suit' as it loomed ominously and its tendrils waved sinisterly on its back…

"Oh, it's just our shy neighbor." pointed out the Imp while turning to look at the rest, a bit confused as for why they all looked so pale and terrified, Keita even 'bravely' putting a shivering Siune behind him…and the rest of the UHA boys also having taken cover behind the pair. "Uhm…is something wrong, Slendy-san?"

For all answer, the unnatural and slender creature pointed up towards the sky with all of its tendrils, even as it stepped back and released a sound that, despite communicating 'worry', sounded suspiciously like the laughter of innocent children.

Blinking, Yuuki stepped out the house…and gasped, quickly rushing out into the field, followed by the anomalous humanoid creature. After a few seconds of hesitation, and against their better judgment, the rest of the UHA members and Sleeping Knights followed.

Outside the log house, Tonky was looking agitated while its 'friend' returned to its side, the slender creature trying to calm down the elephant-jellyfish-butterfly as it moved from side to side and nervously gazed into the heavens. Not far from it, Charon (Sinon's hippogriff) looked equally spooked, the beast rushing around the clearing while flapping his wings.

None of that seemed to matter for the gathered group, however, as their attention and gazes were fully drawn to the bizarre sight of the virtual sky warping and distorting in a more bizarre way than they had ever seen. And given that several of them were SAO Survivors and had seen the effects of Kirito's first Serious Punch, never mind the fight in the Utopia Server, that was saying something.

However, seeing how the heavens seemed to twist into a myriad of unreal-looking **_Chains_** , wrapping around each other from a horizon to another in every single direction, was beyond bizarre already. When you added the unnatural feeling of Wrongness, of Finality and Hopelessness that the mere sight of it all seemed to instill into their very souls by apparently no reason at all, though, things go much worse…

"Wha-what the…what the hell is that…?" mumbled Sinon with a numb tone, feeling a painful squeeze in her heart, an odd feeling and need to run away and hide in fear that she hadn't felt since she faced Death Gun along Kirito.

"So-some bug…some kind of error…?" whispered Silica while her hands tightly gripped Pina, though it was clear that the kunoichi didn't even believe her own words even as her loyal friend released worried and scared sounds, red eyes fixated on the heavens.

"I don't…think so…" was all that Sachi could say, feeling the strange urge to pierce towards the sky with her spear, only to confirm how much despair-inducing and futile that would end up being.

"Not right…it's not right…" shaking, Yuuki's eyes were wide as she unsheathed Excaliber, the golden blade humming and shaking in her hands as her gaze never left the ever-extending Chains, as if some unnatural fear was gripping her very soul. "Those things…aren't ri…!"

"…guys?" gaining everyone's attention at how empty her words sounded, Philia slowly looked away from the small screen she had opened, looking deadly pale as she gulped. "I-I think we should Log out."

"…why?" muttered Keita when it became clear nobody else was going to.

"Something…something is happening outside…the sky seems to be…breaking…?"

With deadly finality, the Chains finally started to materialize within Reality itself.

 ** _"[…the time of the End has come. Who can stand against Fate's Judgement…?]"_**

* * *

Getting inside was easy. Much simpler than he would have ever thought.

Then again, apparently his…no, 'their' bosses had connections that were very high up. Probably a mole inside the facility, actually, which would explain a lot of things. Getting into the massive and stupidly-shaped structure in the middle of the ocean that gave the middle finger to the concept of 'secret facility' more than anything people in fiction could have come up with was the easy part.

The tricky bit was surviving and achieving their goals once they were in, obviously. They had been given equipment and outfits to go for it, but…why ruin the fun?

He had a plan, after all…

As suicidal as idly walking out into a hallway outside the main deck they had disembarked at seemed, whistling a happy tune in full view of the cameras like he didn't have a care in the world.

It didn't even take 5 minutes for several armed guards to appear at the opposite end of the hallway, aiming at him and shouting for him to stop.

"FREEZE!"

"Why, hello there, gentlemen! Isn't this a lovely day?"

"Shut up! Who the hell are you?! And how did you get here?!"

"Don't you know? I'm the Prince of Hell…"

As he calmly spoke, never losing his smile, Vassago Casals casually tiled his head to the side.

Something twisted and sharp, like some massive needle from hell, shot forward faster than any of the men could blink, turning the leftmost one's head into a messy ruin.

Almost in slow motion, their gazes turned to meet a dark and inhuman form, nightmarish red eyes peeking from within a hood and mantle that seemed more skin than fabric.

"…and this is my kingdom now."

 **"Pathetic…die."**

Shots and screams quickly filled the hallway, the sinister man never losing his smile as he admired the one-sided carnage that ensued, like a fascinated child seeing a file of ants moving through the road.

Once silence fell again, only Xaxa's tall and monstrous form remained standing, the remains of one of the poor guards held in his left 'hand', clawed and covered with steel-like bone.

"…magnificent. It's the first time I actually see you 'work', but…you truly have become something else, eh, Xaxa?"

 **"Shut the hell up…PoH."** growled the Mysterious Being while glaring at him, neither his skeletal face nor his blood-burning eyes seeming to make Vassago lose his unnerving smile. **"Let's find Kirito…and kill him already…"**

"Don't rush ahead without thinking, my friend. That's how you got your ass kicked last night, isn't it?" chuckled the unnerving man while walking forward, putting a hand on the monster's shoulder as he stared towards one of the cameras aiming right at them. "If our dearest 'Hero' is really here, we will find him and he will finally get what's coming to him. First, though, we have a job to do, remember? And you play the most important part on it."

 **"Right…kill everything that moves…inside this dammed place…"**

"Heh, have you seen the size of this 'turtle', Xaxa? There is no way you could kill _every_ single person working here."

 **"…is that a challenge, PoH? Just…WATCH ME."**

Snarling those words, the creature that had once been Shinkawa Shouichi released an inhuman howl, turning around and dashing down the hallway while dragging his deformed needle-like limb through the metallic walls, vanishing from view after rounding a corner.

"…man, boss, you truly have balls of steel." joked Kanamoto Atsuchi as he walked into view from where the pair had come, twiddling his pocket knife while stopping at his side. "I mean, even I get a bit unnerved when he does all that creepy 'in-your-face' act now, but you don't even blink."

"Doing that would be counterproductive for me, Johnny. After all…the more I watch him, the more I can feel it." grinned Vassago while caressing the butcher knife hidden under his clothes, even as he raised the rifle he had been carrying (But aiming down) and shot the closest camera as if it was no big deal. "I'm _this_ close to figuring it out."

"Eh? Figure out what?" questioned the unkempt man with confusion.

"Well…"

Alarms started blaring before the former leader of Laughing Coffin could finish his sentence, his eyes narrowed as he looked up and Atsuchi cursed out loud when the sound of doors closing nearby could be heard.

"What the fuck?! These bastards sure react fast!"

"Nah…even with Xaxa wreaking havoc, that was a bit _too fast_ …something is amiss."

"So…what now?"

"What do you think? Nothing has changed…let's go do our 'job' while he has their attention. Heh…time for one last _showtime_ …"

At that moment, Seijirou Kikuoka was staring in a mix of confused horror at the blaring alarms, heading towards the control room from where he had been having lunch in the cafeteria.

Flanking and quickly overtaking him, the two girls that now controlled his secret facility for all intents and purposes looked unusually grim, even as Higa and Rinko hurried to catch up.

"Okay, seriously, what the hell is going on?! You suddenly started talking with those two through your tablet and stood up looking all serious!" demanded to know the bespectacled man while both Rika and Asuna ignored him. "And now all the alarms in the facility are blaring out of nowhere! You think that won't make someone realize…?!"

"If you must know, Kikuoka-san, Argo and Suguha-chan just called us from your facility at Roppongi, Strea and Yui-chan let us know when they contacted your control room." casually revealed the chestnut-haired girl as they rounded a corner, leaving the government officer speechless. "They say something or someone is coming for Sen…Kazuto-kun, so we had them make the alarms go off in preparation for that."

"Wha…? Wait…from the facility in Roppongi? How…?"

"They kicked their way in, took down all the idiots you had stationed to try and arrest Suguha and then got your underlings to put the call on." summarized Rika as they neared the control room, making the man pale and the other two adults to exchange a disbelieving look.

"…we're all going to end up in prison once this is over." sighed Rinko while covering her face with her hands. "They all for obvious reasons, you two for utter incompetency and me for helping these girls do all of this…"

"Do-don't say that, Rinko…" hesitantly, Higa started reaching out, as if aiming to hold the woman's hand. "I'm sure this will all somehow…"

"Lieutenant Colonel, it's an emergency!" screamed a wide-eyed man as he all but shot out of the control room just as the group arrived before it, looking quite panicked. "We're under attack!"

"What?!" shouted Kikuoka as his eyes shot at him, even as the two girls grimaced and exchanged a look, walking into the room with resolute eyes. "How did it happen?! How many men?!"

"Yo-you mean you didn't activate the Full-on Emergency Alarms for that?! A-and…it's not 'men', attacking us sir…it's a monster."

Staring up at the main screen and ignoring the confused looks all the researchers inside were giving them, Asuna and Rika stared at the blackened form with nightmarish red eyes tearing through the hallways, killing everyone in his way with ease and staring from time to time at the cameras.

Time and time again, a single name raged from the depths of his throat.

 **"KIRITOOOOO!"**

"…Xaxa. Fuck…thank Heavens Argo and Suguha warned us." sighed Asuna while forcing herself to look away from the carnage caused by the monster, closing her fist and feeling the almost mechanic-like feeling humming under it reassure her. "Strea, Yui, what do you have for us?"

"He's not alone here." informed the younger-looking of the virtual sisters while materializing on the nearest screen, scaring the hell out of the closest workers while Kikuoka and the rest entered the room and looked in horrified shock at the footage of the Mysterious Being. "There were two other men with him when he appeared. If I had to guess, he's going on ahead as a diversion or something and those two are the ones in charge of whatever true goal they're aiming for. Given what's done here, one doesn't need to be a genius to deduce what they're after, but him…"

"I don't care how that bastard knows Kirito is here…he has another thing coming if he thinks we're going to let him harm him!" growled Rika while slamming one of her fists in her open palm. "Hey, Kikuoka, what's the biggest weapon you have here?!"

"Wha…?! This is a research facility! Even if we have some armed guards, there are no big caliber weapons available here!"

"Sadly, he's telling the truth. And judging by the way bullets seem to be just crashing uselessly against him, he's not only tougher than when he fought Suguha and the rest last night, probably nothing short of a rocket launcher would take him down right now." grimaced Strea while appearing in another screen. "…Asuna, the other two with him…I saw them, but…I think you can guess who they are…"

A frozen moment of footage of both men in the hallway, even as one aimed towards the camera with a rifle. Their faces were only half-visible from that angle, but what was seen and the way one of them grabbed a knife was more than enough for the chestnut-haired girl to recognize them.

"Johnny Black and…PoH." cursing silently, not even bothering to question why the old Laughing Coffin trio was back together again, the second in command the United Heroes Association turned around, clenching and unclenching her hands as she walked past the adults, a strange fire visible in her eyes. "Liz, go protect Sensei! Don't let anyone get close to him no matter what! Strea, Yui-chan, find where those two are and let me keep them away from whatever piece of this Project they're after!"

"You got it, 'Mighty Flash'!"

"Hai, Asuna-mama!"

"They won't get even close to anything important!"

"Wha…?! Where the hell are you going?!" shouted Kikuoka while turning around to look at Asuna with wide eyes. "Don't you see there is a monster out there?!"

"Yes, I do, and as much as it pains me to have to rely on you, I'm leaving him to your men to handle for now. It's obvious that PoH didn't get here by himself just to kill Kirito-kun, so whoever helped him out wants your so-called 'secret project' for themselves. The morality of your sick objectives aside, I refuse to let them hurt the people of that world…I wouldn't be a Hero trained by Sensei if I did." sentenced Asuna with a tone that left no room for arguments, somehow every single adult in the room, even those that didn't know what was going on, feeling a 'pressure' crushing them, as if they were in the presence of someone whose Will couldn't be defied by the likes of them. "I'm going to go out there and risk my life to protect them, him…and you all too, no matter how little I may like you. Because that's what a Hero would do."

For a moment, the girl's eyes seemed to shift in everyone's eyes, as if Reality itself was glitching and something that shouldn't be possible was taking place. Then, the instant was over and she was walking out of the room with resolute steps, her right arm extended at her side as she opened and closed her hand continuously.

"Hey, Kikuoka, I'm borrowing this!" spoke Rika after a few seconds, carrying a telescopic baton in her hands, which she had just taken off one of the shocked guards' hands, her face set in a grim look as she marched out. "It's not a hammer, but it will have to do."

"Strea, you keep Asuna-mama updated and tell everyone back home what's going on! I'm going to put every single internal defense system this damn place has to its maximum output." declared Yui while her 'little sister' nodded and vanished, before she turned towards the group that still remained in the control room. "If you have anything else not directly connected to the network that could help us out here, I would really appreciate the help in saving everyone's lives."

"Ah…ye-yes, there is the prototype robot bodies we designed to carry Fluctlights, Ichiemon and Niemon." mumbled Higa as he walked closer to the screen and started typing something. "Bu-but I don't think they would be of much help?"

"…those terribly stupid names aside, show me what exactly those are. We don't know what's about to happen and anything we could use would be great…"

"…what are you waiting around for?! Go and help those girls not get themselves killed!" barked Kikuoka once he finally came back to his senses, his men nodding and rushing out of the room. "Dammit…someone should go to the STLs room too and make sure it's locked, there is no remote access for that because of the security measures…I will…"

"Do-don't worry, Kikuoka-san, I will go!" called out a nervous-looking man in a lab coat, surprising the government officer. "That thing i-is still at the other side of the facility, and we can get right into the room through one of the maintenance walkways…"

"You were…Yanai-kun, right? Are you sure?"

"Ye-yes…we need to keep the Project safe, after all, right?"

"Yes, but…have a guard go with you, this is too risky." receiving a nod, the bespectacled man looked away from Yanai, not noticing the strange smile appearing on his face for a moment as he marched out and asked for one of the two remaining armed men to help him. "Okay…what else do you need, 'Yui-chan'? If we're going to survive, we need to work together, I suppose."

"…that's probably the most sensible thing you have said today." chuckled Rinko with a hysteric edge in her voice, clearly still trying to process a seemingly unstoppable monster and killers from Sword Art Online had boarded the facility with shady intentions.

"No time for pointing out the obvious, Rinko-san." deadpanned Yui with a little smile in her face, 'dusting off' her black dress in a clear attempt to calm herself down. "We need to…"

 **'EMERGENCY!'** signs suddenly appeared in every other screen, making the former MHCP-001's eyes widen, several researchers shouting and rushing to the nearest consoles, even as Higa froze in shock.

"What's going on now?!" screamed Kikuoka while trying and failing not to panic.

"It's…it's the Equinox Cycle, Kiku-kun." mumbled the second most important man in Project Alicization while shakily turning around. "Something…something just happened and…someone just put it into Overload Mode… _from inside the Underworld_."

"…the…the what cycle?" muttered Yui while looking down, her mind trying to deny the name that had just been uttered.

Every single screen's message suddenly decided to change at that moment, though, revealing a single, dark plea.

 **-KILL…ME…NOW…-**

* * *

From a moment to the next, the World stopped making sense.

Without warning, without any premonition or bad feeling hitting anyone…the heavens ripped open, just above Japan.

No…that wasn't the correct term. It was more as if, suddenly, the very fabric of Reality had been torn apart at its seams, unmade by the same forces that had created it at the Beginning.

And from within burst the Chains, endless, metaphysical, Conceptual manifestations, finally visible for even those that existed ignorant of the truth of the Omniverse, extending forward from beyond the horizon and outside of Existence itself.

While confusion and panic slowly started filling the world, at Roppongi, two tired and slightly battered girl were staring out in shock, ignoring the people screaming or panicking around them as many pointed at the sky and took pictures or asked what was going on.

Shiori felt her claws become 'more real' as she stared up, looking down at the things before seeing their forms 'glitch' out of existence for a moment, before they came back once again.

 _'Master! So-something isn't right! Thi-this is…'_

Suguha barely heard Justice's worried words despite literally hearing them within her head, for there was only one dark, terrifying thought filling her mind as she stared towards the warping sky.

"…Disaster-Level…God."

At other parts of Japan, several other teens were staring out at the sky with wide eyes, though with a firm resolution uniting them, before they all grabbed their phones and rushed out of their homes, some ignoring their parents' worried calls and others throwing out excuses as they contacted their friends, somehow knowing they needed each other to face whatever this was…

And while the United Heroes Association assembled, within the virtual void of the Internet, the 'ghost' of a man stared with hard eyes at the screens surrounding him, seeing reports coming from all around the world about the phenomenon, before looking back at the program he had tracking the movements and transmissions made by MHCP-001 and 002, hearing the latest bit of news about the situation within the Ocean Turtle.

Taking a deep breath, Kayaba Akihiko took his decision.

"It seems I will have to help out directly after all…Kirito."

Ignorant to everything going on, to the world sinking into chaos…or, perhaps, _relishing_ on the distant feeling of it, a certain man walked down one of the metallic hallways of the secret facility, before stopping and raising an eyebrow. Without hesitation, he raised the rifle he carried, aiming forward to kill with the practice of a lifetime doing so…

And a blade soared through the air like a missile, cutting through his weapon and forcing him to drop it as he rolled to the side, not having lost his arm by a miracle.

Realization gleaming in his eyes as he saw the black sword embedded on the ground, Vassago Casals smiled as he turned around, staring at the figure now standing at the hallway's opposite end and looking at him with cold disgust.

"…PoH." spat Yuuki Asuna as if the very name was a disgusting curse she didn't want to ever mention.

"…yo, Mighty Flash. It's been a while, hasn't it? Not since that night in Aincrad, before that silly 'grave'." chuckled the man as he stood up and grinned darkly towards the young woman. "So…have you grown at all since then? Or are you still scaring of dirtying your hands by killing someone?"

In answer…the black form of Elucidator flew from where it was impaled on the ground, soaring past Vassago and being caught by the chestnut-haired girl before she adopted a familiar stance with it, so much that the sinister man could almost imagine a second blade there in her empty hand.

"I don't know…but I know one thing for sure: I'm not going to let you harm him…or anyone else."

His smile turning downright psychotic, the one once known as PoH whipped out the butcher knife hidden within his clothes, the simple kitchen utensil somehow seeming to crackle with menacing might despite how insignificant it looked compared to the black blade its enemy wielded.

"Yes…that's what I wanted to hear. I never was one to believe in Fate, but…facing you here may be exactly that." declared Vassago as he also took a familiar stance. "Let's go, Mighty Flash! Villain vs. Hero, one last time! Will you be victorious again…or will you be the stepping stone I need to 'evolve' once and for all?"

Silence reigned once the words were spoken, psychic grin and grim resolution being the only things visible on their faces. No further exchange was needed.

With twin roars of madness and determination, the villain and the heroine rushed towards each other, ready to clash as the World around them started to End…

* * *

 _"Stop."_

 _"…hoh?"_

 _Curiosity filling his voice, the Storyteller looked up from where he had been narrating the tale, finding the strange weapon wielded by Golden Requiem leveled straight to his hidden face._

 _"How do you know all of this?!"_

 _"…really, Golden King? At this point, interrupting the story to make such questions feels so…"_

 _The sound of an energy gunshot drowned that of the weak rain that had started falling. Impassive, the Storyteller barely seemed to acknowledge the fact that the blast had destroyed the part of the pillar he was leaning against, despite how it should have been an Immortal Object._

 _"Cut with the bullshit already! NO ONE should know everything you're telling me! I was wary of how much detail you had before, during the first part, but this…who are you really, Storyteller?! How do you know…how do you know the history of my f…!"_

 _"Don't say another word, child, or you may regret it. Remember, in this world, anyone could be listening." seeing the girl fall silent immediately as she looked around, the mysterious 'old man' chuckled. "As for how I know the things I do? Is not really important. I'm but a relic, forgotten by the previous age…telling this story to you is one of the last meaningful things I will ever do."_

 _"…how can I even trust such a vague…?"_

 _A hand was raised, rusty and weak-looking, and a torn page materialized upon it, silencing Golden Requiem as she stared at the phenomenon in surprise._

 _"Perhaps this will suffice?"_

 _"That…that wasn't Incarnation. How…?"_

 _"A small secret that is not yet time to share…but here, Golden King, accept this as a proof of my sincerity…the missing page from Selka Zuberg's diary."_

 _"…what?!"_

 _"Yes. The page that she never remembered losing, the one that she never found even after remembering. The one containing her first and only full prophecy; made the very day after her life sunk into sorrow, as she cried herself to sleep in her room like any child that had just lost her closest people would…"_

 _Reaching out with almost shaky hands, the 'robot' girl snatched the page, staring down at it._

 _Everything within her wanted to shout how that wasn't possible, that it was just a fake, a lie…but it wasn't._

 _She recognized the page's texture. She recognized the style of the writing on it._

 _After all, she had many times sat on the lap of someone kind but sad as she showed her the diary, lamenting to have never found the missing page in time, lamenting the things she could have prevented…_

 _Almost with childish excitement and fear, Golden Requiem started reading the words she had never thougth she would:_

 **'Once Upon a Time, there were Three Friends, joined by Destiny and Honest Bonds'**

 **'But Fate destroyed their lives.'**

 **'One taken by her Destiny, to become something more. One returned to the world he didn't know was his home, his mind forgetting but his soul yearning. One consumed by Death, warped by Bones and Ice'**

 **'And when the Time of the End comes, as the Chains take Everything from Us…they will meet again. And when that happens…'**

 **'One will rise above all others, to become the Hero they were always meant to be.'**

 **'One will be forever changed, never to return to who they once were.'**

 **'…and One will be forever lost, taken by the Chains of their Fates, for the sake of those they love…'**

 _"…well then, Golden King?"_

 _Shakily staring up, the girl looked back at the Storyteller, almost feeling the sad smile that she couldn't see in his hidden face._

 _"…ready for the last part of this tale?"_

* * *

 _Next…_

 **A new objective to reach…**

 _Eugeo:…can your master really help her?_

 _Charlotte: Yes…mother can probably wake up the Seer again._

 _Holding the unmoving and slowly breathing body of the tea-haired girl, the black-haired boy standing near clenched a fist._

 _Kirito: then it's decided…we're marching for Centoria, no matter what stands in our way._

 **One Path set…**

 _Kirito:…are you sure about this?_

 _Sortiliena: Yes. I'm going with you._

 _Staring back at the destroyed exit of the monsters' hideout, seeing Ronye and Tiese standing there with sadness, the undead couldn't help but grimace._

 _Eugeo: Let's hope that will be enough…_

 **…and the greatest obstacle, ready to stop them…**

 _Administrator: Hear me out, my beloved Knights…these villains, enemies of the Human World, are heading for our dear capital. They have killed your comrades and threatened our peace…their sins can't be allowed to stand._

 _At once, every head was raised staring right towards the Goddess of the World._

 _Administrator: Make sure not even the memory of them remains._

 **Next time on 'One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate':**

 **Chapter 10: Towards the White Tower**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And so, this is done. Man, who would have thought we would ever get this far? Especially now that the Alicization anime's first half has ended, feels so long ago since I started this story, even longer since OPG period did…

Funnily enough, they were a lot of things in this Interlude that I hadn't written in a long time, like the bits of Keita with Siune, Justice's, well, 'Justiceness', and the UHA's interactions in general, but that still felt easy and right to fall into despite how long it had been. Also, you may notice some discrepancies on details about how the security of the Ocean Turtle is handled compared to Canon, but this is because of how much more 'paranoid' OPG Kikuoka was compared to the normal one, after everything he has seen Kirito and the UHA do XP

That said, we're approaching the last part of this crazy journey, and the end of all things is upon the UHA! Can they hold the line without their dearest One Punch-Gamer while he's still fighting within the Underworld, though? And what's the story behind the two mysterious characters behind the story? The answers to that…will come later XP!

No RWBY Omake this time, as it's an Interlude, so I will see you all next time in Eroge's next update! That said, this fic's next update **may** get a bit delayed, not because of external factors but because Lusus Naturae is about to end and I'm debating if I should go on an 'Update Spree' of it for its ending, which would mean writing the last chapters of it one after another to not leave everyone reading it on unnecessarily long cliffhangers :3

Until then, though, this is Saint, signing off!


	15. Chapter 10: Towards the White Tower

Hello everyone. It's been a long while, hasn't it?

First of all, apologies for the massive delay, especially to those who only follow this story and not my other ones. Finishing Lusus Naturae ended up taking way longer than it should have due to external factors, then making THIS chapter also got hit by quite a few delays of the same kind, couple with a small writer block caused by the brutal heat. Hoping it doesn't repeat, but at least for now things are back to normal :)

With that said, time for another arc of this story to start, as we start heading for the inevitable endgame! The road to the white tower is now clear, so what will happen to our heroes in the way…and once they arrive there? Read to find out!

And, as always, remember that help filling out this story's TvTropes page is greatly appreciated!

 **Disclaimer:** Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!

* * *

 **Arc IV: The Will of Five**

 _"You lie. You were still holding back. I never stood a chance. It wasn't even a battle…"_ – Boros, the Dominator of the Universe.

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Towards the White Tower**

 **24th day of the 11th Month of the Human Empire Calendar, 379. Underground, Early Morning…**

With a small grunt, more of habit than of actual tiredness, Eugeo finished putting the crudely-carved rock in place, letting out a sigh as he stepped back. Behind him, he felt Tiese softly walk to stand at his side, her hand instinctively seeking his own.

He took it without hesitation, the two unnaturally cold people finding 'warmth' in the other's touch, their eyes fixed on the simple words written in Common Tongue atop the stone.

 **'Here lies Frenica, Young and Brave'**

 **'She gave her life for those she wished to protect'**

 **'May her Wings take her peacefully to the next world'**

"…it looks…fitting. And…very honorable, too." mumbled the vampiress girl while looking at the grave in silence. "A 'monument' to remember someone that has been lost…I never would have thought about that."

"…Kirito say that, in his world, the remains of the deceased don't just vanish like there. So, since immemorial times, his people have found many ways to honor those who have passed. We never had to worry about that…but then Blessings and Curses came. And some of them make the body remain even when the soul is gone, for Gods-know-what reason…" bitterly commented the undead while staring at the place where they had buried the bird-girl's corpse. "So maybe this is for the best…but it's also a grim reminder of what fighting this 'war' may cost us."

Because the green-eyed young man could see it, so easily, the name on that piece of stone being replaced by that of someone else, someone he had failed to save, someone he couldn't protect, someone that…

Someone that having failed again would make his cursed life into endless torture.

"…we…we will manage this, Eugeo." whispered the redhead while squeezing his hand harder, her eyes never leaving the grave despite how much she wanted to look into her eyes while saying those words. "You will see…we will find a way, somehow."

"…heh, that you can still say, even after everything that has happened…you really are strong, eh, Tiese?" chuckled Eugeo while looking down at the once again silent vampiress, before his gaze moved to somewhere behind them. "But…"

Slowly, Tiese also turned to look, at the groups of Cursed Ones that were finishing packing what little belongings or supplies they could scrounge, ready to move out before the Axiom Church came for them again.

More concretely, though, his eyes were fixed on an area were a red-eyed Ronye finished cleaning the face of an unmoving young girl, her eyes staring at nothing with an emptiness that most would consider unnatural.

Selka Zuberg did not move. Did not speak. Did not react at all.

Despite seemingly having regained consciousness, the once determined and surprisingly resourceful seer was a corpse in all but name. She clearly was still breathing and needed sustenance, as the sounds her stomach had made last night showed before someone had to feed her.

Alive but…'empty'. Like her body had suddenly forgotten how to use her soul, or something sinister like that.

Feeling the boy's fists clenching with anger, Tiese couldn't help but bit her lips, even as her own gaze lowered to the long object held tightly between the girl's hands, gripping it seemingly the only thing she could still subconsciously do despite her current state.

Jet black like the night sky, except for its mirror-like edge, the terrifyingly powerful blade rested atop its user's body. And the entire time she was cleaning and adjusting her clothing, the vampiress noticed how Ronye never once let her fingers touch it, as if scared it was going to come alive and kill her.

After what they saw yesterday…she couldn't really blame her. Even if it had been Selka, somehow, who had unleashed it, the sheer raw power inside that thing was something that dwarfed even their wildest dreams in scale…and it hadn't even been all of its power.

Of course, the most tragic thing was that Selka had apparently burned out her spirit just to activate it and save them, but…

"The young one's soul has been damaged. As she is, she may never recover again…but not all is lost yet."

The sudden intrusion of the soft female voice made Tiese jump place, but Eugeo only turned his eyes slightly to the side, as if he had already known she was there.

Siting on his shoulder, a small spider stared back with all her 8 small eyes, an intelligence that no mere arachnid should have clearly reflected within.

"…can your master really help her?"

It was a simple question, but one loaded with a dangerous promise.

After all, Selka Zuberg was the closest thing to a little sister Eugeo of Rulid had ever had as a child, despite having his own family, who barely really paid him any attention back then. The fact that she was the actual little sister of the person he had valued the most, the one he failed to protect, just made his care for the young girl even more pronounced.

If the creature had truly led Selka to her current state without any hope of recovering, then the undead would kill it, no matter what. Already, he had to refrain himself from hurting it just from the young girl's current state, no matter if activating the sword had been ultimately her choice.

"Yes…mother can wake up the seer again…probably." barely reacting at how Eugeo's glare intensified at the last word, the spider that had introduced 'herself' as 'Charlotte' did its best imitation of a shrug. "If there is anyone in the Underworld that can, then it's her."

"…then it's decided." called out another voice, making the pair turn around to see a familiar form of black-hair and a cape, his gaze unusually cold as he carried Selka's catatonic form in his arms, a worried Ronye following just behind him. "We're marching for Centoria, no matter what stands in our way."

"…couldn't have said it better myself, Kirito." nodded the undead while exchanging a determined look with the boy from another world.

Staring at them, Tiese risked a glance to her best friend, only to see how her worried gaze never left the tea-haired girl's fragile body, causing her to sigh softly. Almost instinctively, her hands moved to the small yet deadly objects she now carried at her hips, finding a semblance of comfort in the cold metal, their sharp edges seeming as ready to cut her own fingers as they would anything else. This didn't surprise her, though.

After all, even if she had laid claim to them by picking them up after the battle was over, the former scion of the Shtolienen noble family didn't doubt that the Twin Edged Wings wouldn't be taking a liking to her anytime soon…

* * *

Alice Synthesis 30 arrived back to Central Cathedral and dismounted Amayori just as the entire world over the capital seemed to flicker in an unnaturally strange way, causing unrest amongst the people of Centoria that the Subterraneans were quick to try and calm down.

Giving the strange phenomenon a quick glance, the golden knight didn't stop her path straight for the cathedral's dragon nest even once, Amayori grunting with effort as they finally landed. Not missing a beat, the blonde girl abused her super speed and took off her dragon's armor, letting the tired creature ready to rest beside its brethren and giving it a quick pat on the head before shooting upstairs. Fanatio and her 4 followers arrived moments later, the Second Knight clearly not happy upon seeing how the youngling had 'ditched' them.

The aforementioned young woman didn't care for that, though. Almost without breathing, she rushed through several Floors, ignoring the warnings of the 'guardian' asking for where she wanted to go, determined to simply reach…

"Hold it right there, little lady."

And all of a sudden, her mad run through the cathedral was stopped; an undignified squeak escaping her throat as a powerful hand impossibly grabbed her mid-run and threw her head-first into water.

She was only idly aware that this meant she had arrived to the Bath located in the 90th Floor (Which meant she had once again broken her record, 60 Floors in barely 7 seconds) before she shot out of the water and spluttered for breath, thankful that her modified armor made her much lighter and, as such, didn't make her sink like a rock inside the hot water.

Staring at her with crossed arms, Bercouli Synthesis One raised an eyebrow as the soaked blonde knight looked at him with shocked eyes.

"Ojii-sama, wha-what…?!"

"That's what I should be asking you, little lady…were you really going to burst through the upper Floors straight to Administrator-sama's chambers? Despite knowing we have forbidden traversing through the senate if it's not done through the guardian's portals? And on that note, don't worry, I have stopped her, so you don't have to linger here anymore.

Startled, Alice noticed how the shadows of the room had become much deeper and more ominous at some point, feeling a familiar if creepy presence staring at her from every corner, before IT 'nodded' (Despite having no visible head) and vanished, back to its usual tasks.

"…I'm sorry, I…I wasn't thinking straight. I apologize, O…Synthesis One-sama." softly declared the young woman while bowing, doing her best to ignore the water dripping down her body while the older man sighed.

With a quick movement of his hand, Alice felt his Will imposing against the world and removing most of the water clinging to her hair and bodysuit, making her shiver for a moment as he saw him spin the liquid and lazily throw it back into the baths. Then, he gave her an understanding smile and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's fine, little lady. I would be worried if I had suddenly learned my apprentice had been sent on an extremely dangerous mission while I was away. Even if Eldrie was apparently smart enough to ask for Renri to accompany him." watching the blonde knight sag slightly in relief upon hearing his words, Bercouli couldn't help but let a small grin appear on his face. "So don't worry too much about that youngling, okay, Alice? I'm sure he's fine."

"Yes…once again, forgive my rashness, Ojii-sama." apologized the Golden Knight while slightly sagging in relief. "I just…when I thought he may have been sent after all of those criminals alone…"

"You thought he wasn't ready, understandable. But hey, he's an Integrity Knight too, in the end. Plus, with Renri at his side, there is no way they would be simply defeated like that. Now, why do you say we go ask that fat annoyance of Chudelkin what that whole light display of a few minutes back was without needing to…?"

The door leading to the hallway towards the next Floor opened. That alone would have been enough to catch both Integrity Knights' attention, but the obnoxious sound of food being munched on added a level of instinctive dislike and annoyance to them. As one, their gazes turned, scowls firm on their faces as they saw High Elder Chudelkin walking towards them…

However, what made them freeze was the unusually serious expression on his face, a hint of anger barely hidden within his weirdly cold eyes as he angrily munched in a small bag filled with snacks…and was it their imagination, or did the clownish little man seemed a bit…'bigger' than the last time they saw him?

"…Synthesis 1. Synthesis 30. You're already here…good, it will make this less annoying than it already is, at least." grumbled Chudelkin while angrily chomping down more of his seemingly endless snacks. "Gather every Integrity Knight in the city and meet up on Floor 99. Her Highness has called for an emergency briefing of the utmost importance."

"…what happened, Chief Elder?" demanded Bercouli with narrowed eyes.

The answer he gave was as simple as it was brutal.

"Synthesis 31 and 27 were killed in battle."

The Chief Elder didn't even bother to look back to see Alice stumbling back and almost falling into the water with a look of shock and horror in her eyes, even as the First Knight shouted and held her before she fell. He just kept walking towards the nearest door and stepping through the inky blackness that was now behind it without so much care, the 'guardian' of the Tower silently asking where he needed to go. There was a lot of job to do because of this 'setback', after all…

Around an hour later, every Blessed (And one Cursed) Integrity Knight was standing on Floor 99 once again, even Fanatio's 4 followers this time. However, unlike last time, the mood in the air was much somber and darker, not even Fizel and Linel exhibiting their usual childishness, the former even clenching her fists and biting her lips in apparent anger.

It was more than obvious why; when, even with the four new additions, the room felt sinisterly emptier thanks to the two obviously missing people.

Barely suppressing a sigh, Synthesis One looked over the gathered knight with seemingly unperturbed eyes, but inside he was probably the one most affected.

He had been there from the beginning, after all, before any of them. With the exception of Fanatio, he had seen many of them come and go, both before the age of the Gods' Blessings and even after that.

Synthesis Three had seemed invincible, even with how ridiculous Fanatio pointed out he looked in that dog outfit of his. That was back when she still used to smile before she wore her armor 24/7.

Nobody had been more shocked than her when the charred remains of his 'costume' had been found beside the traumatized and half-conscious form of the most dangerous Criminal ever caught, a seemingly harmless teenage girl that had somehow all but exploded his head with a single blast of energy.

Synthesis Eight and Nine were a humble but powerful duo, those so-called 'tank-tops' they wore under their armors apparently making they 'more powerful', or so they liked to joke about.

Only one of them returned alive from what seemed like a routine mission, crying and cradling the bloody black tank-top of his partner, muttering about a giant with 3 eyes that couldn't be beaten. He had to be 'Frozen' by Administrator-sama so he could rest and hopefully recover from the ordeal.

It had been 15 years and he still showed no signs of getting any better.

Most recently, Synthesis Twenty-Five and Twenty-Seven hadn't survived the mission that ended up with Renri receiving his Curse. And now…

Sadly, Bercouli's eyes drifted towards Alice's silent form, the girl in gold still in that new and quite revealing form of her armor, not having bothered to try and get a new one. There was nothing but hate and pain within her icy eyes.

Forcing his eyes closed for a moment, the First Knight let his hand descend to the hilt of his blade. Like always, the strange and ever-present ticking sound that he could hear within it helping the timeless man to calm down. Almost as if answering in kind, the powerful, mysterious sound that sometimes came from within himself started to fill the room, making many tense or stare at him with serious eyes.

 ** _BA-DUMP._**

 ** _BADUMP…_**

The sound of the drums of war, some called it. The warning of the end, some of the beings from the Dark Territory had named it. The Rage of the Integrator, some of the more dramatic members of the church had commented. However, something that had struck with him was a thing young Linel had told him not long ago, when she had heard the 'phenomenon' for the first time.

She said the sound reminded her of an _'engine',_ whatever that was. And despite having no idea about it…Bercouli Synthesis One thought it was oddly fitting…

"You're all finally here. Good, it was about time." uncaring of the mood, or maybe simply being too annoyed to care, Chudelkin entered the room from one of the shadowy 'portals' that the cathedral's guardian was famous for, marching towards the center of the room and turning to look at the gathered knights. "I will go right to the point: At some point yesterday, the connection between Central Cathedral and the Blessing and Curse of Synthesis 31 and 27, respectively, vanished completely. Her Highness Administrator-sama spent the entire night analyzing the reason behind this, as it had never happened before even when an Integrity Knight fell…"

"What does that even mean?" asked Fanatio with a cautious tone, clearly as unnerved by the strange news as most of the older knights, the younger ones exchanging uncertain gazes…except for the serious Alice.

"That whatever happened to them didn't just kill them…it completely erased their Blessing and Curse from the Cycle of Restoration." spoke a beautiful and power-filled voice, making everyone in the room freeze in place in surprise. "It's truly a frightening thought; don't you think so, my knights?"

Almost lazily, the platform leading to Floor 100 lowered itself, Administrator's otherworldly beautiful figure descending with a kind smile as she looked towards her now quickly kneeling Integrity Knights, even as Chudelkin exploded into praises as he haphazardly bowed her way.

Bercouli, however, felt a chill going down his spine. Having known her the longest out of everyone present, after all, he could SEE behind the smile, something that was quite frightening for him, despite how little things she was still able to surprise him with.

There was burning displeasure seeping deep within her eyes. Like that you would see in a particularly smart child who was suddenly told some of his favorite toys had broken and that, despite having more than enough replacements, still felt the need to horribly punish whoever had done so.

"Esteemed Highest Minister…do you mean to say that the criminals that…killed Renri and Eldrie somehow managed to…completely destroy their souls?" questioned Alice with trepidation, barely daring to raise her head even as she tried to contain the horrified anger in her voice.

"Or something as close to that as possible. I'm afraid to say I don't know **_how_** exactly they did it, though…Sacred Arts aren't supposed to manage such a thing, and no registered Blessing or Curse has ever possessed such a frightening ability." gently spoke the Ruler of the Human World while leaning back into her 'throne' with a distressed look in her perfect face. "My dear Integrity Knights…I'm afraid we may be facing a threat much worse than we ever imagined. It's not only the safety of the Human World…even the sanctity of its inhabitants' souls being threatened right now!"

It was such a terrifyingly amazing power. Because, at that moment, not a single soul in the room didn't share her supposed distress, in their own particular ways. Nobody doubted her words. Even Bercouli, who knew there always was much more than what came out of her mouth in every action of his 'ruler', could find not a hint of fakeness or lies within her words.

At that moment, nobody in the world would have doubted Administrator's true fear and despair at the idea of something capable of destroying a human soul being in the hands of their enemies.

Of course…that didn't mean she felt it for the danger **_others_** could experience because of it. But then again, no one needed to know that, right?

"…as you say, Administrator-sama. Our enemies are more dangerous than ever, firs this 'Anomaly', then the fugitives joining with him, now even the Rider having aided them, and whatever this new weapon is…the chaos of the world has simply grown too massive." as he spoke those words, the First Knight knew they would bring about something that would perhaps change their entire world…but also that there was no way to avoid it, one way or another. "What are your orders?"

Utter silence filled the room as every Integrity Knight finally dared to look up towards their ruler's grief-stricken face. For a moment, she bit her lips in the most human way they had ever seen her, against the usual 'perfection' she seemed to reflect.

Then, her eyes snapped open, a fire within them that made their souls shudder and Chudelkin to visible shake in place as he barely contained what sounded like an awed moan.

"Hear me out, my Knights…these villains, enemies of the Human World…no, enemies of everything the Goddesses created, cannot be forgiven. They're out there and, very likely, heading towards our dear capital. They have killed your comrades, threatened the peace of our world and broken some of the most sacred laws without care…their sins can't be allowed to stand."

Without any hesitation, inspiring nothing but fearful awe within the heart of her knights, Administrator stood up, her form seeming to glow with an ethereal light for a moment as her face twisted into a fierce smile.

Bercouli Synthesis One hated how much that visage terrified and captivated his soul at the same time.

"…make sure not even the memory of them remains."

"IT WILL BE DONE, ADMINISTRATOR-SAMA!"

No matter how different they were, how long they had interacted or even how long they had been without actually serving her, not a single one of the Integrity Knights hesitated in delivering that answer with utmost conviction.

Sitting back on her throne, the God of the Underworld couldn't help but smile, even as Chudelkin barked orders and rushed to organize the knights and to declare Centoria in a state of emergency.

Even if there was almost nothing remaining of her humanity by this point, moments like these truly…put a smile on her face.

At the Edge of Reality, [DESTINY] worryingly looked on as many pieces finally took action in the seemingly impossible board, looking menacingly towards those few around the Black-White King.

"[…Divine King mobilizes her pieces. The last stage of the 'game' has begun…]"

For once ignoring the ever-growing Chains, even as their hold upon the Universe of the 'board' was almost complete now, the youngest Absolute One hesitated, his gaze moving from the one showing the conflict within the Underworld and the one taking place in the Real World.

Then, ever-so-slowly, he moved his hands towards one of the empty spots…

* * *

Kirito was barely able to suppress a sigh of relief as he saw the last of the groups making their way outside the cavern. Once outside, Azurica and Gorgolosso, aided by a few of the oldest members, would start guiding them further east. Apparently, they had another hideout prepared for such a situation, even if it wasn't even as remotely as prepared as this one had been. They had a few weeks, maybe months, of hardship ahead, but compared to what had almost happened…

Slowly, the boy from another world turned around, pushing down his every-day-less-urgent wishes to have his 'power' at hand like always in the past, both to help him return home and to protect and bring justice to those poor people the world had rejected. Stopping for a moment, he stared at the makeshift grave Eugeo and the rest had prepared earlier, his gaze falling on the small mound of dirt before the rock acting as a tombstone, waiting for bated breath for something to happen.

Nothing did.

"…guess not all of these 'Blessings' and 'Curses' can be perfectly reproduced, huh?" mumbled the boy with sadness before touching the rock with his hand, closing it into a fist and punching it slightly. "I hope you find peace, Frenica-san. And…thanks for protecting Selka. I will make sure she recovers, no matter what."

Those gentle words spoken, the hero walked out, in a completely different way from where the rest of the Cursed refugees had gone. Less than five minutes later, he was outside, through the half-destroyed 'hidden entrance' he had originally used to get inside when he first arrived.

There, he found both Ronye and Tiese staring sadly towards the most obvious signs of the Axiom Church's attack, the holes on the ground and the parts that had collapsed all the way into the underground hideout, and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret.

This was probably the first place those two had been able to call 'home' in a long time, and those Knights and their Subterraneans had destroyed it without mercy while trying to kill them. Again.

Just how much would the power that ruled this world keep hurting them before it was all over? He had no answer to that…but the caped young man swore he would do everything in his power so that it wouldn't happen again on his watch.

Then, his gaze moved towards the other people present, idly nodding towards Eugeo as he was helping to adjust Selka's comatose body on top of Sleipnir with a special harness they had been provided earlier, the unnatural horse looking unusually serene as his several eyes were fixed on the young girl with melancholy.

Finally, though, his eyes were drawn to where Sortiliena and Uolo were standing, the young man with his now completely restored Gatling gun arm (Who knew Sacred Arts could do such a thing?) frowning slightly as the young woman stood there with her arms crossed.

"…are you sure this is the best course of action, Liena? You…you're the one everyone looks up to. You're our leader, our guide…"

"We both know that I have been a figurehead for a long time, Uolo. Azurica manages almost everything these days, and you're much better at strategizing that I will ever be…however, the undeniable truth is that I AM the one almost everyone in the Human World has heard of one way or another, the 'Rider of Eastabarieth'. And after yesterday, I'm no doubt amongst the highest-ranked criminals of the Axiom Church's history…which means they will be looking for _me_ right now." explained the so-called Rider as she took a deep breath, giving her long-time friend a sad smile. "So if I go with them I both keep the target on my back off you and the rest, and also repay our debt for their help. Two birds, one stone, as they say."

"…if you go with them, you may die." softly whispered Uolo while looking into her eyes.

"If they send more Integrity Knights after me, I **will** die…and get you all killed if I'm with you." replied Sortiliena while her face morphed into a confident grin. "With them, however, I have a chance to survive…and who knows, maybe we will actually get through this without any of us dying and saving the day, like the actual heroes from old stories."

If she was being serious with that statement or not, the young man didn't know. However…

"…take care, Liena. And please…come back alive. I would hate to deal with Gorg crying his hear tout if you died."

Blinking in surprise for a moment, the young woman broke out laughing, as if unable to believe the usually serious and fierce man had made such a joke before she reached out and hugged him. Then, after wishing him the best once again, she started walking away, towards where her horse and the rest waited. Giving them one last look, Uolo's eyes met Kirito's and, after a small nod, he walked back inside, heading towards the secret exit where the rest of the refugees would be waiting for him.

Despite knowing he couldn't see him anymore, the caped boy still gave his own acknowledging nod, then headed towards where Eugeo, and now Sortiliena, stood beside Sleipnir, just as his friend and partner finished securing Selka to the mighty horse.

"…you're actually coming with us, then." commented the undead as he gave the Rider a sideways glance.

"Seems like it…besides, I would hate for you to have wasted all that time getting Selka-chan on Sleipnir's back if I wasn't." joked the young woman as she patted her horse's side, giving the aforementioned girl on its back a small smile. "Don't worry, brave lady. We will get you back to normal in no time…"

"We better. Otherwise, I will be squishing some spide…wait, where did she go?!" demanded Eugeo as his eyes failed to find Charlotte's small form in his shoulder.

"If you don't mind, I will be traveling with you from now on." softly whispered the aforementioned spider from Kirito's shoulder, making the caped boy raise an eyebrow as the small arachnid casually shot a web and vanished inside his hair, her body so small he didn't even feel her doing so. "Being near your unkillable friend may prove detrimental for my health and you kinda need me to find mother once we get to Centoria…"

"Yeah, it's okay. And don't blame Eugeo, he's just…well, he's really sensitive about 'failing' people, and he clearly feels he did that to Selka because of her current state. In fact, if it wasn't because I'm 100% sure she did this of her own accord, I would also feel like killing you for this." casually revealed the hero before releasing out a tired sigh, his eyes turning serious as he looked towards the horizon. "There is no point in blaming anyone or delaying things anymore, though. We need to get to the capital as soon as possible."

"…the trip won't be easy, nor as fast or direct as we may wish it to be. Especially with the Integrity Knights in no doubt high alert now after realizing two of their own are dead. You will need to get through the Immortal Wall and get out of Eastabarieth soon, never mind surviving in the dangerous wilds of Southacroith for who knows how long." muttered Charlotte with a grim tone. "This may actually be the hardest part of your journey so far."

"…well, Selka still needs saving, and I promised her and Eugeo to save her sister too, so nothing has changed for me. Just that now we have a bit more urgency to get it all done." replied Kirito without missing a beat, surprising the unnatural spider as he raised a clenched fist. "Also, I still need to get back home, so…let's get started."

In silence, the small arachnid watched as the caped young man from another world walked towards the two young Cursed Ones, softly telling them it was time to go with an amazing amount of tact and understanding, getting soft nods and resolute looks as they headed towards the other two, ready to start the last part of their dangerous journey.

And as she did so, she couldn't help but think that, maybe…maybe he truly was the answer her mother had been looking for so long. That, just maybe, he was the speck of light, the dying flame that this hopeless and oppressed world needed to be free of its invisible chains.

 _"…what do you think, mother?"_

Siting in the massive library that was everywhere and nowhere at the same time, a young-looking immortal let out a sad sigh, staring at her reflection in the cup of tea she held.

"…only time will tell, my dear child. Until then…try to make sure he doesn't get himself killed."

Nodding at what was probably the hardest she had been ever given during her bizarre life, Charlotte the Spider stood in wait, even as the 5 unlikely companions started moving south.

In the distance, storm clouds gathered, like announcing the incoming hardships in their way…

* * *

Walking down a hallway after exiting one of the telltale shadowy 'gates' of the Guardian, Linel Synthesis Twenty-Eight adjusted her lab coat with a serious expression in her usually passive face, even as the annoyed form of Fizel Synthesis Twenty-Nine hurried after her.

"Agh, dammit! Why can't we be on the primary team looking for those thrice-damned criminals?! This is unfair! We're Blessed Integrity Knights too!"

"We're the youngest ones too, Fizel-chan. The only reason we're ranked high enough to attend those meetings is because we obtained our Blessings shortly before the 'took' our positions as Knights, otherwise we would be locked being trained like normal church Apprentices." answered the usually more passive of the two, the cold logic filling her voice making her best friend pout. "Our task is extremely important too and, to be honest, it would take a miracle for them to find those Criminals before we're ready to be an active part of the hunt."

"…I still don't like it." growled the little girl in prisoner clothes while stomping on the ground, her chain and ball cracking it slightly, only for it to quickly repair itself. "…Renri was an idiot…but he was OUR idiot. He's…the only one who bothered to talk with us on a daily basis, more than anyone."

"You mean, that you two argued like cat and mouse every day?" questioned the bespectacled girl while raising an eyebrow.

"Yes! I mean, no! I mean…ugh, you know what I mean, Fizel-chan! He…he was the only one who bothered with us." teeth gritted and eyes shining in a way that she would later deny, Linel looked more vulnerable than Fizel ever remembered seeing her. "Maybe we truly annoyed him and his 'Protector of the Capital's Skies'-persona, but he also _cared_ enough to answer back. He gave a damn instead of simply ignoring us like the rest does…"

And how true was that? Blessings or not, they were a 'joke' amongst the Order. That was something which the usually shyer of the pair had been able to quickly notice after her own power had awakened, elevating her intellect and ability to perceive the world around her to scary levels. Even before they became like the group that had been reunited before Administrator-sama today, the way in which they had obtained their ranks amongst the Integrity Knights had made them be looked down with contempt, indifference or both.

They had seen in in Fanatio's hidden gaze almost since they first met her. In Alice outright ignoring their existence most of the time. In how Deusolbert would refer to them as lost children needed to be continuously scolded.

Just a pair of psychos that had come out from an experiment of their ruler more powerful and messed-up than any children should ever be. Who had usurped the rightful place of two 'Summoned' chosen from the Celestial World through murder. That's all they were, in their eyes. Nobody there considered them 'knights' at all. Nobody really cared for them…except Renri Synthesis Ten.

In his own way, by the prisoner-clad girl's words, he had cared enough about them to continuously get on their case about being a disgrace to the Order and to try and act more like the Knights they were meant to be. Maybe it was just because of how his Curse had warped his mentality, of how much the new position Administrator-sama gave him after that had gotten to his head, or by a combination of both, she knew this was a very real possibility thanks to the intellect her Blessing gave her…but Fizel didn't care. Linel didn't either.

Renri had been the closest thing they had to a friend, and now he was gone. Killed. By the same enemies he had lost against before for underestimating them…

And she knew that wasn't him having been stupid. After that failure, the Winged Knight had clearly been in the mindset to never underestimate those particular Criminals again. He had been ready, he had Eldrie by his side (Who was formidable in his own way despite being the most recent member of the Order), and he had had an army of the new Super Subterraneans that Scheta had just finished making. And he lost his life anyway, coupled with, if Chudelkin's information was correct, a complete defeat of their forces.

The cold and logical side of her knew these criminals needed to be exterminated as soon as possible for the sake of the Human World. The side of her that was a mentally-warped little girl who knew murder as second nature wanted revenge for the death of her 'friend'.

For the first time since her Blessing manifested, both sides of her agreed on that. And as she turned to look at Linel, her never-as-smart but way stronger partner, she knew that her best friend had already decided on the same. One quick exchange of looks was enough for them to communicate that, as easily as they knew perfectly how to kill each other the best.

When they were done…those Criminals would wish they had died at Renri's hands.

"…trust me and we will make them regret everything, Linel-chan."

"…gee, you know I can't deny you when you make so much sense, Fizel. Fine, I will protect you while you finish up your newest pets." grinned the (Slightly) older of the two with a very disturbing smiles. "Are we departing now?"

"As soon as we get the Transport ready. Deusolbert-san was tasked with taking us to my lab by Administrator-sama."

"The old man? Well, the flight there certainly is gonna be dull."

"Maybe, but once we arrive and I have the latest project ready, none of it will matter for those criminals."

As she declared those words, Fizel Synthesis Twenty-Eight ominously let the scarce light of the hallway reflect off her glasses.

"They will be crushed by the power of 'Evolution'…"

* * *

Scheta Synthesis Twelve was a woman of few words. She had always been, even before she became the 'Underworld Queen' through her Curse…maybe even before she was summoned by Administrator to be an Integrity Knight, even if she couldn't really remember the time before that.

Within her mind, the single constant had always been, after all, her single desire, her life's goal…her obsession.

To **_'Cut'_**.

Cut anything and everything in her path, no matter what. Any enemy she had been directed at had been cut down without mercy, first by a normal blade and, then, by the Black Lily Sword, her personal Divine Object, the bloody flower of darkness bathed in the remains of a war, on the energy of all those who had fought and died in that battlefield of the Dark Territory.

That was when she committed her first and last criminal act. When the thought that she could cut 'anything' thanks to her new blade became so powerful that she, obviously, turned her sights to the single and greatest thing in the world, something that supposedly couldn't be cut…the Axiom Church itself.

On that day, she turned her blade against Administrator-sama herself. Her first and last mistake. Even as she calmly ordered the other knights to stand down and that she would _'Take care of it herself'_ , a part of her mind had already realized something was terribly wrong.

Then, once they were alone, the Axiom Church's Highest Minister had asked her to try and cut her down. With a smile, as if Scheta wasn't essentially betraying everything she stood for and the trust put in her when she was granted the super-thin blade now pointed against her.

And so, the Twelfth Knight had swung down, seeking to cut the Ruler of the World.

She failed. By the time she had stopped screaming, she had…changed. Already become what she was, much to Administrator's apparent surprise and amusement, because she hadn't actually moved a single finger to stop her.

All that God had done was show her True Self to the naïve, foolish mortal who was obsessed with cutting things. And, in doing so, Divine Punishment had come, Scheta was sure, and that's why she had become a hideous monster, one with a hilariously useful power; that of granting the forces that protected the Human World a nigh-infinite army of powerful guardians.

Exiled to the underground, to where she could never cut anything again, mentally scarred and tasked with being the shadow protector of the Human World for the rest of her days, all that Scheta had done was nodding and marching off without any resistance. All she had done was continuously creating more Subterranean…of her 'children', who saw her as a guide, a mother, a 'queen'…but she knew that she was nothing of the sort.

She was just a foolish mortal who had tried to oppose God and had seen the error of her ways. Accepting her punishment was the only thing she could do…

Until she was called up once again, to aid the Human World against new enemies. Scheta had, once again, simply followed the orders without question, not even wondering what could be so dangerous her supposed lifetime-exile had been lifted.

Now here she stood, amongst her fellow knights once again, with a threat so great it had already cost two of them and seemingly put their entire world in danger. One that may even cost her own life, if she wasn't careful.

It did not matter. All that she was, all that remained of Scheta Synthesis Twelve, was the monster that followed the orders of God without question. The obsession with cutting anything and everything was gone, now little more than a whisper deep within her soul, for she had horrifyingly found the single thing she would never be able to cut.

The True God of the World, who sat on the Throne of the Axiom Church…

 **'…we're here, Synthesis 12.'**

The unnatural whisper on the back of her mind alerted the Subterranean Queen of the fact that she had arrived at her destination. Stepping out into the First Floor of Central Cathedral, she ignored the looks many of the normal nuns and priests gave her as she exited the Darkness brought for by the tower's guardian and prepared to head for the courtyard, where she would go underground to exit the capital and go reunite with her 'children'.

Before doing it, however, she stopped and, in a surprisingly expressive gesture of her, turned to look at the mass of darkness, which seemed to 'stare back' in a questioning way.

"…Guardian…are you like me?"

 **'…I don't understand the question, Synthesis 12.'**

"I can feel it too, every time I go through you, ever since they introduced me to your power when I came out…that you're too powerful to be confined to this tower, doing something as mundane as being a glorified transporter." softly replied Scheta while the grip on her Black Lily Sword slackened, her other 3 'magma' blades seeming to release a dim hum as she tilted her head. "So the only reason you would is, clearly…that you have seen it too, right? Have you…seen God too?"

For a moment, the darkness didn't answer.

Then, it warped into a facsimile of a face, staring directly at the Subterranean Queen.

 **'I do not belong in this world, Synthesis 12. Even less than you or the ever-tortured thing that Administrator-sama keeps locked on Floor 95. I was brought as part of her many experiments to reach even greater heights, at the sacrifice of someone else…a part of them remains within me, like an echo, and that's the only reason I have this job. I'm the Guardian of the Tower, like Renri was the Guardian of the Sky. The last line of defense on pair with you Integrity Knights in case someone actually gets in here. This, I do out of obedience to our 'God'…but I act as the gateway for everyone out of my own free will.'**

"…and why is that?"

 **'…because that's the only task the one sacrificed to summon me ever knew. Her only purpose…to bring people from a Floor to another.'**

With that last whisper, the Darkness receded once again within the walls it was bound to, leaving the inhuman Knight alone with her thoughts…

* * *

"So, Sleipnir can teleport us through the Immortal Wall?"

As those words were spoken by a surprised-looking Kirito, the sun was already setting in the Underworld, the group of 5 travelers, one 'disabled' passenger, a 'horse' and a spider already somewhere deep into the woods at the southeast of Eastabarieth. And, honestly, if it wasn't because of how Sortiliena was still confidently guiding them, the black-haired young man would have said they were hopelessly lost, having been hours without any relevant landmark on sight.

"Yes and no. Sleipnir's power allows him to jump through the shadows of any place that I know personally. When I was a kid, I went to both Southacroith and Eastabarieth a few times, so that helped early on, and the rest was basically exploring on foot, back before we got our base." explained Sortiliena as they continued moving, her gaze fixed on the horizon, knowing they would soon be within viewing distance of the Immortal Wall. "It takes a lot of energy from him, though, and more depending on the distance and the number of people I carry with us, so we need to get as close as we can to Southacroith before attempting to jump."

"Man, I thought my powers were weird, but it seems as if just everyone we keep encountering has weirder and weirder ones." chuckled Eugeo as he walked alongside Kirito, Ronye and Tiese close behind him as they stood on Sleipnir's sides, alternating between looking at the 'sleeping' Selka and forward at the others.

"Well, if things keep going anything as I think, you haven't even seen half of the weirdness that can come our way, partner." sighed the caped hero as he looked towards the sky, a nostalgic smile on his face as he recalled watching the crazy world of a certain bald man alongside Suguha.

"We have seen giant birds, birdmen, underground creatures, rhinos, transforming armor, beams of raw power, regeneration, free elemental manipulation, and super speed and more…how could things get any weirder?" questioned the undead with an exasperated tone.

"Hmm, let me think about if…if you see a humanoid creature that's all blue and with antennae, run as fast as you can. Also, if you see a tiny thing that's all black, with one antenna, the size of a child and looks surprisingly harmless, fall to your knees and beg for your lives." explained Kirito with utmost seriousness.

"…what." Was all that came out of Tiese's mouth as she stared at the boy from another world in disbelief, only to blink in surprise at seeing her best friend quickly noting down what he had just said with a frantic look. "…seriously, Ronye?"

"…please, for the peace of my mind, tell me you were joking." mumbled the Rider while giving him a sideways look.

"A bit…because if those things were actually here, I'm pretty sure they would have already been noticed…or the world would have been borderline destroyed." winced Kirito while trying to ignore the alarmed looks that came from his companions at his words. "Besides, from what I have seen so far, not every Blessing or Curse can perfectly reproduce the…'legend', so to speak, it's based on back in my world, so maybe reaching such level of power is impossible for a normal person…"

"Can't deny that doesn't lift a weight off my shoulders. I don't know what I would do if I had to face something on such a scale…maybe even my regeneration wouldn't be able to keep up." mused the green-eyed young man while crossing his arms, Tiese putting a comforting hand on his back as if to try and cheer him up.

"Yeah, especially given that's one of the examples I was talking about, you should be able to…regenerate much…faster…" trailing off, the caped hero blinked several times, his words of just now and things he had seen since he arrived at that world hitting him with a sudden realization.

Yes, such levels of powers should be impossible, apparently even for some of the 'superpowers' the Artificial Fluctlight…no, the _people_ of the Underworld had been gaining.

However, some of them seemed perfectly able to use their powers as they were described in One Punch-Man…hell, some used them better or in ways that weren't shown in the series, like Selka with her ability to see the future.

And wasn't he himself proof that such limits COULD be broken? After all, hadn't he, as briefly as it was for now, channeled the power of Saitama, that which broke all barriers, in that world too?

Incarnation…the power to bring about that which you imagined into Reality. A 'glitch' in the system of this world…or maybe something that had been intended to be there all along? Given Kikuoka's sometimes twisted mind, it could very well be the case.

So then, maybe…?

"Uhm, Kirito-san? What's wrong?" asked a concerned Ronye while stepping up to his side, drawing his attention back to reality and making him notice how everyone was looking at him with worry/confusion.

However, his gaze was now fixed in the young girl before him, the image of a hobo wearing a silly-looking crown casually manipulating several spheres of energy to move around him faster than bullets and deny every attack delivered faster than the eye could follow with little to no effort. Then, his gaze snapped towards Eugeo, the visage of a man whose body had been burned almost down to the bones restoring his flesh in less than 30 seconds being superposed with his confused one. Finally, he looked at the curious-looking Tiese, a certain vampire turning into a cloud of bats able to dry several monsters from all their blood in seconds moving through his mind's eye.

Slowly, a smile most of them would have called 'creepy' appeared on his face.

"…partner…that look in your face is scaring me, and I have stared down more monsters than I can remember…"

"Heh…sorry Eugeo, but…I think I just thought of something that could help us all out if it works out."

"…and if it doesn't?"

"Think positive, Liena-san! Plus, we will need every edge we can get if we want to get into Centoria to cure Selka." reminded the young man with a serious tone, before his face split into a fierce grin. Now then…who is ready for a training montage?!"

"…a what?" asked everyone there with utterly confused looks.

Charlotte sighed, having a very weird feeling about this.

Meanwhile, back in the now abandoned hideout of the 'criminals'…a figure stumbled through the half-collapsed hallways, continuously groaning and cradling a stump on his left side with his right arm.

Stepping into one of the few areas with enough holes to still let some of the sunset's light get down there, the dirty and slightly bloody face of Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-One could be seen, looking oddly less 'shiny' than usual, the young man panting as he half-dragged his legs forward, feeling as if they were made of lead.

"Can't…stop moving…I…I can't believe I am…still alive…"

He had lost consciousness soon after the agonic kick from the Rider had all but shattered his ribcage. It was only a combination of his Blessing, his armor and his now missing Divine Object on Memory Released form slowing the attack down that he hadn't died on the spot against it.

But…something had happened while he was unconscious. Something horrible.

If the fact that the hideout was empty and full of strange 'holes' everywhere wasn't enough clue, there was also the fact that he had found a couple of the same holes going through his right arm, the only part of his body that hadn't been embedded into the wall from the 'Rider Kick'. And that he now felt…empty.

That power he had always felt ever since he was summoned from the Celestial Realm was…gone. His Blessing had been…destroyed, stolen, SOMETHING. And now here he was…half-dead, missing an arm, without armor and wearing barely some scraps of clothing, Kilolus away from any help and with no way to call for help from Central Cathedral. It had been a miracle already that he was able to fight through the pain and cast enough Sacred Arts to heal most of his external wounds, but the Thirty-First Knight was no healer. If he didn't get to someone able to fix his ribs soon, he would probably die from internal bleeding.

And then, as if the Goddesses had completely abandoned him, he arrived at the biggest area he had seen so far, filled with clear signs of a brutal battle had taken place there not long ago…and also confirmed his worst fears.

"Renri…they actually took you down." mumbled Eldrie as he stumbled towards where the once menacing-looking and now broken avian-like armor lay on the ground, forgotten and abandoned. "…curse you, criminals. Curse you and everything you stand for! Do you hear me?! I may die here, alone and forgotten…but divine justice will reach you sooner or later!"

Punctuating his raging screams, the Integrity Knight reached down and threw Renri's helmet forward with every ounce of strength remaining in his body, seeing it fly through the air with a mix of anger and sadness.

Then, the helmet crashed against an oddly-shaped rock that was standing atop a medium-sized mount of dirt, making it fall forward.

Eldrie had just noticed there seemed to be something written on it…when everything SHOOK, his breath being stolen away as he felt his very soul trembling. The next instant, flames of raw power exploded from under the rock, consuming it and bathing the area in some unholy mix of heat and insane pressure, making the young man scream as he fell on his back.

Undeterred, the flames kept burning upwards, destroying dirt and rock in mere seconds and vaporizing it faster than it could fall, before they finally erupted outside, letting the light of the setting sun fall down in the now exposed cavern, just in time for **a burning arm** to explode from within the scorching grave.

Horrified and awed at the same time, Renri Synthesis Thirty-One stared as a mighty form emerged from where it should have been lying dead.

Humanoid, yet avian at the same time, similar to how Renri had been in that way, but the similarities ended with that thought started, especially as the four majestic wings on its back unfurled, letting the knight notice how most of the body was covered by golden and red feathers of a majestic nature, and most of torso and legs looking like dark armor with an unblinking eyes in its center, surrounded by four claws that looked as deadly as the black and human-like ones in which the hands and feet had turned.

Its head…seemed for a moment to be that of some majestic imposing bird, but then, still amidst the inferno, the beak _opened_ as if in an eternal screech of power, to reveal there was a human face within it, staring at the world with eyes that burned brighter than the flames around them, and Eldrie knew his death would be horrible and painful…

"…eeeh?! Why is there so much fire?! WAAAH!"

…before the terrifying and mighty atmosphere was completely shattered by the feminine scream, the flames drying down as if they were 'absorbed' back into the horrifyingly powerful being as it stumbled in place, as if it…no, as if SHE wasn't used to the way her body was now.

Dumbfounded, the Integrity Knight stared at the Cursed One, the most powerful one he had ever witnessed, only now noticed that she was shorter than him, only the width of her wings and the way in which her…outer head (?) was making her seem bigger. However, the face peeking out from within the bird's beak was that of a cute teenager, some of her light-brown hair spilling out of it and around her pale face, her eyes of the same color looking utterly confused and panicking as she stared down at her body (Which also seemed slightly female, now that he looked closer).

"Wha-what?! What is…?! But…I pushed Selka-chan aside and…then that attack hit me and…now I was buried underground?! What happened?! And why is my body…so different again…?"

Still trying to understand what the hell had happened, feeling a terrible headache combined with more power than she had ever felt before, not to mention her memories feeling terribly muddled, Frenica Szeski groaned and tried to look around the abandoned cavern for help.

Almost instantly, her gaze fell upon the fallen and bloody form of the wide-eyed Eldrie, shocked looks being exchanged before she shouted and flapped her wings, moving to his side almost instantly, making the half-dead knight pale.

That had been almost as fast as Alice-sama!

"N-no…!"

"He-hey, are you okay?! Oh Gods, you're wounded! Hang in there!" tried to calm him down the worried girl, freezing the Integrity Knight on the spot as she grabbed him and, effortlessly, rasied him on her arms. "Ah…I'm way stronger now…oh man, it's been so long since I had normal arms and legs…this is going to take a while getting used to again…"

"Wha-what…?" mumbled the shocked young man, before coming to the clear and terrible realization.

He was lying there, looking half-dead and without armor, only with bloody destroyed clothes on him, and no weapon.

This girl, who felt as if she held more power than most of the average Integrity Knights, thought he was just a wounded member of her 'group'.

"Do-don't worry, mister! I don't know what happened and I can barely remember a thing clearly, but I will get you to Azurica-san soon! She will be able to heal you!"

"Wa-wait, no, you're wr…!"

Anything else than Eldrie may have wanted to say turned into a never-ending scream as Frenica shot upwards in a burst of flames, soaring into the heavens in seconds, screaming about flying way too fast as they vanished into the clouds.

And as the light of Solus vanished and Lunaria started rising yet again, everything being oppressed by the unseen Chains, the Underworld started changing yet again, in a way nobody could have predicted…

* * *

 **EMERGENCY LOG!**

 **ACTIVATION OF DISASTER-LEVEL DRAGON CURSE HAS BEEN DETECTED!**

 **DIVINE CURSE '(Phoenix Man)' IS CLASSIFIED AS A HIGH-PRIORITY ALERT!**

 **SENDING TO ADMI…to…se-se-sending…**

 **-01001110 01101111 00100000 01101101 01101111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100011 01101000 01100001 01101001 01101110 01110011-**

 ** _…Negative. Emergency State still in effect. Denying Emergency Log. No reports shall be filled._**

 ** _Closing System Console…_**

…

…

…heh…heheheheh…take that…bitch…

* * *

 _Next…_

 **A race against time…**

 _Ronye: This…is exhausting…_

 _Kirito: Hang in there, Ronye. I know you can do it…_

 _Eugeo: Argh…are we really gonna manage this before arriving at Centoria?_

 **Doubts and Hardships…**

 _Tiese: I…I don't know if I really should be here…_

 _Sortiliena: It's normal to have doubts, especialy in an endeavor as big as this, but…why are you still here, if you think that?_

 _Without thinking, the vampire's eyes moved towards a figure with straw-colored hair, swinging his blade without hesitation against a tree._

 _Tiese:…I'm not really sure…but…_

 **And as the world hunts for them, the danger just becomes…ever-present.**

 _Once again, the forest shook, the group back to back as they tried to pinpoint the cause._

 _Then…Kirito's eyes widened._

 _Kirito:…you have to be kidding me!_

 _Emerging from the trees, longer than a skyscraper, the titanic worm-like monster roared._

 **Next time in 'One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate':**

 **Chapter 11: Ultimate Monsters**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Man, glad that's finally finished! Hope you enjoyed it!

Mostly a transition chapter to show more the characters reacting to the events of the previous UDW-chapter, and setting everything for this new arc, but also with a few surprising twists, hints, and big reveals! Hope they were quite to your liking, as things are just going to get crazier from here onwards. In the real world things are just about to go to hell, but here in Accelerated Time Kirito and the gang are rushing forward to try and save Selka, and also fulfill their own objectives in the capital. Will they survive unscathed once they face the darkest truths of the world, though? Only time will tell…

That aside, now that this is over, I can go back to updating Eroge, yay! Also, with LN finished, OverGamer will take its place in the rotation schedule of my fics, so look forward to that too :3

Before any of that, though, I leave you with today's RWBY Omake, so enjoy!

* * *

 **Capes and Roses 10**

Tukson's Book Trade, 'Home to every Book under the Sun', didn't seem any different from any other bookstore in Vale, despite the fancy catchphrase.

However, for the owner, obviously named Tukson, it clearly was. Especially given his plans to secretly move to Vacuo very soon, far away from Vale, far away from his old life…far away from the White Fang.

This involved a massive amount of risk, of course, especially with how much more violent and radical the organization had been getting in the kingdom as of late (Main reason why the man was defecting), but Tukson was sure he had covered his tracks pretty well.

Even so, he was still very unnerved when this unexpected client entered and had been quite frankly…odd demands, given his apparent age.

"…and this book should help you cover the basic geography of Remnant too." deadpanned the Faunus while trying to hide how nervous he was, depositing the aforementioned book on the pile that the boy in the weird jumpsuit and cape had asked for. "…will that be all?"

"Yes, thanks a lot for that."

It wasn't unusual for Huntsmen, both official and in-training, to have some outrageous clothing, but even he thought that attire was ridiculous. Even more, all the books he was buying were extremely suspicious.

He was at the age to be in Beacon, after all, and Tukson could tell he was a fighter of some kind, so why was he buying things that were the equivalent of 'History for Dummies', geography that any kid would know, and even books about the state of the balance between the kingdoms and the Grimm in the last years? That had 'suspicious' written all over it!

Meanwhile, Kirito was just mentally sighing, clearly aware of how weird he must have looked to the man. Ironically, he found himself missing being summoned for a Holy Grail War because, as terrible as those could end being, at least the Grail shoved all the necessary information about the current situation and setting within the mind of his Servant Container.

In that regard, Planetary Summonings once again proved themselves to be the worst kind, because he also lacked even the basic understandings of the world around him when they happened, something the Heroic Spirit had finally decided to remedy after yesterday's training session with JNPR and RWBY.

Incidentally, trying to teach unarmed combat to some members of the group the Caped Hero could bet were destined to be the protectors of the world, as unfair as that may seem for many (Blame [FATE], the prick), was somewhere between utterly hopeless and frustrating beyond belief.

Ren, Yang, and Blake, for quite obvious reasons, were more than apt enough to survive and defend themselves even without their weapons. Pyrrha and Nora weren't too far behind, one through sheer skill and the other strength and stubbornness.

Jaune, Weiss, and Ruby, however…well, the less said about how easily the heiress went down without her rapier, the better, especially when the blonde that had no previous training before Beacon (Unlike all of them) was able to last half a minute more than her.

The young prodigy and leader of Team RWBY, though, despite being horrid at hand-to-hand combat (And that with Yang apparently having tried to teach her some in the past) had the advantage of her Semblance being amazing when it came to moving around her opponent and back to her weapon. However, in a situation where either her dear Crescent Rose wasn't around or her enemy had taken it, she would be beyond hopeless, as her attempt to charge straight-up at Kirito once he took her scythe had shown.

Facepalming a friend wasn't something he liked doing, but he could accept it had been quite a comical sight when Ruby fell down after he all but 'stopped' her face in the middle of the air, rose petals solidifying into a groaning young teenager. Then, after the laughter had come down, he had helped the pouting girl to her feet and proceeded to try and teach her how to, at least, throw a punch.

He may be no martial arts master, but there was nobody in the Omniverse except perhaps one Hero that knew how to do that particular thing better than him. His suggestions about how to best try and incorporate said skill with Ruby's momentum when using her Semblance to make up for her lack of mass or strength, though, were interrupted when Weiss made a comment about some place in Atlas he didn't know and he had asked where it was out of curiosity.

That's what had led to everyone's shock at his amazing lack of overall 'common knowledge' about Remnant. Though to be fair, he had just done his best to know everything about Vale and Beacon when he arrived and realized he should be following Ruby and her friends around.

Which was why he was now there, buying books to better learn about Remnant with some money that he had reluctantly accepted from Weiss. After all, knowing as much as he could about the world he had been summoned at, especially when he didn't know how long he was going to be there, could be the difference between…

The sound of someone entering the store drew Kirito's attention back to the real world, just in time to hear Tukson welcoming the new clients.

Turning around, he was on time to see a cocky-looking boy with silver hair and a tanned girl with green hair and red eyes that had a way-too-friendly smile, before both of them froze upon seeing him.

Raising an eyebrow at the suspicious reaction, the Heroic Spirit turned around to grab his books, pretending to ignore the pair as the shop's owner asked if there was anything in particular they were looking for.

Emerald and Mercury, for their part, were wondering how it was possible that not only was there an unexpected witness where they were supposed to do their 'job', but also that it was the guy they had been warned about by their mistress and, apparently, the cause of Torchwick's current 'state'.

Didn't help that he seemed even more ridiculous up close, especially for the son of an assassin. Eyes narrowed, Mercury Black stared at his back, trying to calculate the best way to kill the 'boy' before he knew what was going on and then go for Tukson right aftte-

 ** _DEATH_**

Freezing in place, the young man with the metallic legs was barely able to hold himself back from screaming at the sudden, agonizing certainty that he and his partner were going to die a hopeless death, cold sweat pouring down his body as he blinked several times, realizing everything was normal, their target was looking confused and the 'interference' was still casually looking through the books he had bought.

Just as it was clear that Emerald was about to say something 'innocent' while activating her Semblance, the silver-haired boy stopped her, making her look at him in surprised confusion at the sudden and strong grip on her shoulder.

"Merc, what the f…?"

"Sorry, wrong shop. Have a good day!" cut her off Mercury as he quickly dragged her out of the shop and down the street, ignoring her protests and having nothing on his mind but getting away from that shop and from whatever the hell that 'kid' was.

Back inside the bookstore, a confused Tukson was startled when Kirito suddenly looked up from his books and spoke again, with a friendly smile on his face.

"You know what, I think I will also get some comics for a friend, she really enjoys them."

"Ah, sure, they're by the front of the shop…"

"Great. Also…if you're planning on going somewhere, I would go earlier. Like, today if possible, really." casually commented the Heroic Spirit as he grabbed a couple of fun-looking comics he didn't recognize at all and put them on the counter, ignoring the way in which the Faunus had stopped in shock to pay for them and give her an oddly serious look that made him look way older than he appeared. "You may not be here tomorrow to regret it if you don't."

With that ominous warning given, the Caped Hero left the shop, casually carrying his books and comics, deciding he would swing by Beacon and see what Ruby and the rest were up to in their last free day before the next semester of classes started.

On a side note, Tukson would grab his emergency supplies and get out of Vale less than an hour later. It would cost him quite some money and losing most of the things in his shop, but he was terrified enough to do so anyway. The man would never know how that random encounter with a ridiculously-dressed boy had actually saved his life; even years later when he saw firsthand how much his world would change.

Sometimes, Destiny could be changed in the most mysterious ways, after all…

* * *

 **Author's Notes 2:** Just a small and almost 'fillerish' Omake, you could say, but I felt it fitting showing some of Kirito's 'random hero' aura at work after so long. Being in the right place at the right time is sometimes much more useful than all the strength in the Universe, after all.

Next time, our hero stumbles upon the mother of all food fights, and he reacts like the mature and timeless being he is…yup, totally…but before that, next time, I shall see you all in Eroge's next update, hopefully not too late from now!

Until then, this is Saint, signing off!


End file.
